The Supreme Court of Justice condemned the National State and the provinces of Buenos Aires, Entre Ríos, and Santa Fe to execute concrete measures to stop the burnings in the Paraná Delta.
The ruling, signed by judges Horacio Rosatti, Carlos Rosenkrantz, and Ricardo Lorenzetti, also obliges the municipalities of Rosario and Victoria to implement a strategic conservation plan.
The sentence responds to a lawsuit filed in 2020 by the Equística Environmental Defense Association.
The organization denounced the damage caused by smoke and soot in the city of Rosario.
Following this, it demanded the environmental restoration of the region affected by the indiscriminate burning of grasslands in the Delta.
The Justice demands a mandatory comprehensive plan to counter the burnings in the Delta
The highest court ordered the implementation of the Comprehensive Strategic Plan for the Conservation and Sustainable Use of the Paraná Delta (PIECAS-DP).
This interjurisdictional agreement, in force since 2008, constitutes the appropriate framework to coordinate prevention policies between the Nation and the provinces.
The Court detected that the fires in the Delta originate mainly from burnings in the jurisdiction of Victoria.
The court also found that there were no significant advances in the preventive policies agreed upon among the different jurisdictions involved.
Before the definition, the provinces and municipalities presented responses with cross responsibilities.
The National Government argued that the original domain of the natural resources belongs to the provinces.
For its part, Santa Fe argued that, although the fires and burnings occur outside its jurisdiction, their effects impact its territory in the Delta.
Concrete measures to protect the Delta from burnings and fires
The ruling establishes that the involved jurisdictions must implement the following actions:
- Install equipment and infrastructure for early warning information mechanisms
- Implement the Conservation Beacons Network throughout the Delta region
- Develop a Systematic Control Plan for fire outbreaks
- Execute a Fire Management Plan specific to the Paraná Delta
The magistrates emphasized that the responsibility for implementing environmental protection and oversight policies falls on the provinces.
Today, the national State is limited to setting the minimum standards for environmental protection.
The complaint of the municipality of Rosario and the need for coordinated action
The municipality of Rosario questioned its inclusion in the lawsuit. It pointed out that “the intentional, illegal, and systematic burnings of the upper Delta of the Paraná River are geographically located in the province of Entre Ríos“, with the exception of some islands registered in favor of Santa Fe.
The province of Santa Fe highlighted that the burning of grasslands is prohibited throughout its territory.
Additionally, it reported that it promotes various measures to prevent and control the fire outbreaks affecting the region.
However, the Court included Rosario and Victoria in the obligation to execute the strategic plan.
The court emphasized the need for coordinated action to preserve the Paraná Delta against the recurrent threat of fires.
The judges clarified that the monitoring and tracking of the plan does not fall under the judicial instance.
This task would imply an indefinite time due to the cyclical nature of the burnings in the Delta, so the responsibility falls on the political authorities of each jurisdiction.
