On 8 April the National Congress approved reforms that change protections for glaciers and the rivers they feed. The earlier Glacier Protection Law set minimum standards to preserve glaciers and banned mining, industry and construction in glacier areas.
The recent reforms remove those protections and give provincial governments the power to decide about nearby watercourses. In response, Greenpeace and other environmental groups filed a collective amparo, a fast legal procedure, to ask the courts to annul the reform.
Groups say local communities and experts were ignored, and there were large public demonstrations asking for water and glacier protection.
Difficult words
- reform — a change to a law or systemreforms
- protection — actions to keep something safeprotections
- glacier — a large mass of ice that movesglaciers
- river — a natural flow of water to the searivers
- mine — to take minerals from under the groundmining
- annul — to officially say something is no longer valid
- demonstration — a public gathering to show protest or supportdemonstrations
Tip: hover, focus or tap highlighted words in the article to see quick definitions while you read or listen.
Discussion questions
- Should provincial governments decide about water near glaciers? Why or why not?
- Why are glaciers and rivers important to local people?
- Have there been public demonstrations in your area for the environment? What happened?
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