Gathering the Grassroots in Guadalajara

Maurice Odhiambo Makoloo, Institute for Law and Environmental Governance, Kenya, and Titi Anggraini, Natural Resources Law Institute, Indonesia. (Photo: Shauna Whidden)

Convening E-LAW`s 2002 Annual International Meeting, "Guadalajara 2002," was an enormous undertaking. Obtaining necessary travel documents, meeting varied dietary needs, finding a common language, and getting everyone from the airport to the hotel were only a few of many challenges.

Meeting these challenges has yielded tremendous returns: At Guadalajara 2002, sixty five grassroots advocates from 34 countries collaborated face-to-face to further efforts to protect the environment through law.

Advocates shared legal tools, scientific resources, and inspired each other with their creative approaches and years of experience helping communities around the world build a greener, more sustainable future.

After the meeting, Genee Mislang from the Philippines wrote: "I had never imagined how much inspiration I could draw from all your experiences and friendship."

E-LAW advocates participating in the meeting reported on groundbreaking work, including:

Raquel Gutiérrez Nájera: Protecting Lake Chapala

Meeting participants visit Lake Chapala

Lake Chapala, México`s largest freshwater lake, has been contaminated by industrial pollution, domestic waste, and agricultural run-off. Residents of Guadalajara depend on Lake Chapala for drinking water and nearly 10 million people depend on the connecting river system for domestic, farm, and industrial use, including electricity.

Raquel Gutiérrez Nájera, the host of Guadalajara 2002, has worked for years to protect Lake Chapala. The federal government asked Raquel to draft a law to protect watersheds throughout México. Raquel called on the E-LAW network for help. Within days of her request, Raquel received advice, model laws, and support from advocates in Colombia, Costa Rica, Spain, Peru, Brazil, Argentina, Bolivia, and the U.S. In August, Raquel sent draft amendments for the National Water Act to México`s National Environmental Secretariat. She writes: "The network and the Amigos were key and a fundamental element for our accurate presentation of the proposed amendments."

At Guadalajara 2002, E-LAW advocates visited Lake Chapala to witness firsthand the critical state of the local ecosystem. Nearby residents hosted a lunch for the visitors to thank them for their support of Raquel`s efforts to restore the lake and surrounding watershed.

Lottie Cunningham Wren: Defending Indigenous Communities

Lottie Cunningham Wren, a lawyer and Miskito Indian, is a tireless advocate for indigenous communities on the Atlantic coast of Nicaragua. She shared a recent victory with her colleagues at Guadalajara 2002.

Last year, Lottie helped the Mayagna Indians of Awas Tingni win a case before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights blocking the Nicaraguan government from selling logging rights in community forests to a foreign logging company. The government had granted a timber concession on Awas Tingni land to a Korean logging company, and even after the Awas Tingni won domestic court victories, the government refused to recognize the rights of the Awas Tingni people to their ancestral land.

Raquel Gutiérrez Nájera (right) hosted Guadalajara 2002. She is the executive director of Instituto de Derecho Ambiental (IDEA), a non-profit organization helping Mexican communities protect the environment and public health.

The legal victory at the Inter-American Court of Human Rights was the first such victory at the international level by an indigenous community anywhere in the world. The Court directed the government of Nicaragua to recognize the rights of the Awas Tingni community, and more significantly, directed the government to establish clear procedures for demarcation and titling of indigenous lands all over Nicaragua.

Many lawyers in the E-LAW network represent indigenous communities and they were eager to hear details of Lottie`s victory. Lottie called on these partners to help her ensure that the Awas Tingni lands are properly demarcated.

E-LAW U.S. is working to bring Lottie greater visibility, better communications tools, and legal and scientific support for her groundbreaking work. E-LAW`s Latin America Technology Circuit Rider, based in Uruguay, visited Lottie in Puerto Cabezas earlier this year and helped technicians at the local university set up hardware infrastructure that is enabling Lottie and local community members to use e-mail services and tap the Internet for the first time.