One of the keys to Greengrants’ success is the ability to respond quickly and flexibly to grant requests. This is possible due to a broad network of advisors and colleagues who communicate effectively and often. In June 2005, the Greengrants model was epitomized when an international network based in Chile, the Observatorio Control Interamericano de los Derechos de los Migrantes (OCIM), received urgent funding to support a fact-finding mission to three Ecuadorian provinces near the Colombian border. This is an area where people are being displaced by the effects of mass aerial fumigations executed as part of Plan Colombia. A great variety of stakeholders and advisors came together over a single one-week period to ensure that the voices of people on the ground would be heard.
In 1999, the Government of Colombia developed “Plan Colombia” as an initiative aimed at resolving the ongoing, 40-year civil war there. The most controversial element of the plan is an anti-narcotic strategy that prescribes aerial fumigation to destroy illegal coca crops, most of which are concentrated in the southern regions of Colombia along the border with Ecuador. The herbicide mixture is meant to be sprayed at a distance of 10 feet in order to directly target the plant, but is often sprayed from 100 feet, leading to an increased amount of spray drift into northern Ecuador where it is associated with a growing number of social, economic, and environmental problems. (For more information on Plan Colombia and its impacts, please visit www.panna.org).
The herbicide mixture has been suspected of causing many illnesses in humans, from minor skin rashes and eye irritations to severe gastrointestinal disorders and possibly death in humans. Glyphosate, the active ingredient in the herbicide, is considered especially toxic to many aquatic species, and is not recommended for spraying near bodies of water. In addition, the concentration recommended by the EPA for use in the United States is a 1% glyphosphate mixture, yet the concentration used in Colombia is 26%.
Since the beginning of aerial spraying, local residents of both countries have presented numerous complaints to authorities about harmful effects of the herbicide on human health, legitimate crops and the environment. The damages have become so severe in some places that entire livelihoods have been disrupted, forcing people to migrate to other areas in search of arable land. As human pressure on these resources intensifies, so do conflicts about ownership and use, which exacerbate the existing human rights violations in this area. It was within this context that OCIM decided to take action by carefully documenting the situation in a way that would obligate decision-makers to take action.
The need was urgent and the capacity to act was in place, but funds to carry out such a project were in short supply. As the OCIM network secretariat in Chile began to search for a funding solution, they contacted Daniel Taillant in Argentina, who is the executive director of the Center for Human Rights and Environment (CEDHA) and an advisor to Greengrants. Daniel was unable to recommend a grant since the board he serves on has a thematic focus on issues surrounding International Financial Institutions (IFIs), but he forwarded the request to the Greengrants office in Boulder. Shortly after its arrival there, the proposal was sent to the main office of another Greengrants advisor, the Pesticide Action Network (PAN).
Within one hour of receiving that message, PAN confirmed a grant recommendation of $4,000 to support the fact-finding mission. This was a major step forward, but the original request was for twice that amount, and the mission might have been jeopardized on such a reduced budget. Knowing this, the PAN secretariat sent the proposal along to its Latin American office (Red de Accion en Plaguicidas – RAPAL), which took a mere two days to commit another $3,000 from their share of the Greengrants budget. By the end of the week, all of the paperwork had been completed and a wire of $7,000 was on the way to OCIM.
Funds were used to convene a mission to the Ecuadorian provinces of Esmeraldas, Carchi, and Sucumbios, where impacts of the aerial fumigations have caused the greatest displacement. The area was visited by a coalition of local and international experts and activists, who carefully documented the events and solicited input from a variety of community members, local authorities, and representatives from various organizations. OCIM is now in the process of creating a Human Rights Impact report covering health and other community impacts in the area, which will be submitted to the relevant authorities and made available to the public.
OCIM maintains a network of 14 representatives throughout the Americas who help investigate and provide information about the situations of migratory populations within the region. In cooperation with various national and international human rights groups and institutions, OCIM then seeks to find appropriate ways to promote and uphold basic human rights when abuses are identified. More information on this network is available at www.observatoriomigrantes.org.