Since 2014, the Group of Neighbors of Guichón for Natural Assets has alerted different State agencies of its concern about “the discharges that UPM throws from the Santana nursery into the stream” of the same name.
The organization reported that in March it received a communication from the DGSA (General Directorate of Agricultural Services) of the MGAP stating that in the analyzes carried out on the discharges from the UPM company’s Santana nursery, “fungicide, insecticide, herbicide, iron and arsenic”.
The group affirms that the analyzes are carried out by the coordination of the project “Necessary conditions for monitoring the environment and health around the use of agrochemicals” carried out by the University of the Republic (UdelaR). “The damage caused by UPM in the biodiversity of the area of the stream is evident since where it discharges its effluents there are no fish left, turtles, birds and otters have disappeared,” they say.
From that moment they asked the Ministry of Environment, Mayor Nicolás Olivera and the Municipality to act and express themselves in this regard.
no answers
“Until today none of the aforementioned has given an answer. Faced with such a worrying silence from the authorities, we decided to make a complaint to the National Human Rights Institution (INDDHH) and to the new secretary of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) that works in the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) », adds the group in a statement.
The group maintains that in response to this complaint, the INDDHH, on June 16, informed them that “it has not yet received any response from the Ministry of the Environment and the Paysandú Intendancy.” The institution reiterated the request for a report to which the authorities have 10 business days to respond.
“What do we have to do in the face of such a great lack of commitment from the authorities at all levels of government? In the month in which Environment Day is commemorated, every day as viewers we attend double speeches loaded with content and void of commitment by the authorities on duty”, they questioned from the group.
“We find ourselves with rulers who do not have the courage to act in the face of a proven case of water contamination, impact on biodiversity and community health by a transnational company,” the group concludes in the text.
