This Thursday, after the Senate gave preliminary approval to the reform project of the Glaciers Law, Greenpeace condemned the decision and warned that the initiative represents an environmental setback.
Now, the organization hopes that the Chamber of Deputies, which has the final decision, will stop the changes. The statement was published after a public protest on the steps of Congress by the NGO.
There, at least 12 Greenpeace activists were detained for criticizing the controversial reform to the Glaciers Law with a protest.
The staging was carried out under the premise “Senators: don’t crap on the Glaciers Law” and included Greenpeace protesters sitting on toilets.
The Senate approved the reform with 41 votes in favor and 31 against. The only abstention was from Neuquén senator Julieta Corroza. The La Libertad Avanza bloc, led by Patricia Bullrich, voted unanimously in favor.
The project now moves to Deputies, who will have the responsibility to decide whether to validate or stop this modification to a key law for the protection of water in Argentina.
What changes now for this law
One of the most questioned articles is the seventh, which allows each province to determine its own enforcement authority of the law, except for areas protected by the National Parks law.
This provincial authority will be responsible for identifying, based on technical-scientific criteria, which glaciers and periglacial environments in its territory fulfill strategic water functions.
Supporters of the project argue that natural resources belong to the provinces. However, critics warn that this gives each governor the power to favor business interests over the criteria of the IANIGLA, the specialized national scientific body.
Furthermore, several opposition senators pointed out that the articles could contradict commitments made in the Mercosur-European Union agreement, approved by the same Upper House in the same session.
Greenpeace’s criticism of the Glaciers Law
Greenpeace warned that the reform weakens the existing standards of protection and breaks the character of minimum standards that apply to the entire national territory.
For the organization, the main risks are:
- Fragmentation of protection: each province could apply different criteria, without a uniform national standard.
- Water risk for millions of people who depend on glaciers as a source of fresh water.
- Opening to extractive activities in fragile ecosystems, in a context of accelerated glacier retreat due to the climate crisis.
- Loss of predictability for communities and territories that currently have clear protection rules.
“The Glaciers Law is a key tool to protect water, biodiversity, and the communities that depend on these ecosystems,” said Agostina Rossi Serra from Greenpeace.
And she reinforced: “Its modification does not respond to an environmental or social need.” The organization also emphasized that the law emerged from a broad social and scientific consensus.
Therefore, its implementation is a State obligation to guarantee the right to a healthy environment, as established by the National Constitution.
“The climate crisis demands more protection, not less. Moving forward by weakening a law that safeguards Argentina’s main freshwater reserves goes against what science and citizens demand,” concluded the organization.
Greenpeace called on the Chamber of Deputies to act responsibly and respect the spirit of the current law.
