Juan Mayr’s middle ground has seemed anything but

July 2000

Brazil

Imported corn feeds Brazil’s biosafety debate

Disagreement over transgenic agriculture has intensified in Brazil following a government decision this month to authorize the importation of 38 metric tons of genetically modified ......

Mexico

Environmental advocates await Fox’s first move

The tea leaves were being read furiously in environmental circles here following Vicente Fox’s historic victory in Mexico’s July 2 presidential elections. And small wonder: Given ......

U.S.–Mexico (Free Read)

Suit seeks more water for Colorado delta

A coalition of U.S. and Mexican conservation groups has sued the U.S. government to free up water for endangered wildlife in the Colorado River delta ......

Chile

Complaint is a first for Canada-Chile pact

U.S. timber giant Boise Cascade’s plan for a major forestry project in Chile is facing a new challenge from Chilean environmental organizations. On June 27, lawyers ......

CEC

CEC leaders agree to consult citizen groups

Mexico, the United States and Canada have reached an agreement that has assuaged concerns—for now, at least—that they were planning secretly to curb the powers ......

Around the Region

Mexico’s nuclear plant to undergo safety audit

The Mexican Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) has agreed to open the country’s sole nuclear power plant to an independent audit, a move environmental activists have ......

Centerpiece

U’wa image abroad not matched at home

Earlier this year, Colombia’s U’wa Indians issued an urgent communiqué to report that 5,000 soldiers had invaded their territory “at the service of Occidental [Petroleum].” “We ......

Q&A

Juan Mayr’s middle ground has seemed anything but

Before entering government, Colombian Environment Minister Juan Mayr spent two decades working to defend indigenous tribes and their environment in the Sierra Nevada de Santa ......

Q&A

Juan Mayr’s middle ground has seemed anything but

Juan Mayr

Before entering government, Colombian Environment Minister Juan Mayr spent two decades working to defend indigenous tribes and their environment in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, the world’s highest coastal range. He founded the nonprofit Fundación Pro-Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, which sponsored environmental research, health care and agro-ecological training, and helped consolidate Indian reservations. For his efforts, he was awarded the Nature Conservancy’s Dunning Prize in 1990 and the Goldman Environmental Prize in 1993. As minister, Mayr has drawn criticism from Indian tribes, especially the U’wa. He expanded the tribe’s reservation by more than 300% last year. But when he granted Occidental Petroleum a license to drill an exploratory well outside the reservation a month later, the U’wa accused him of betrayal and backed a legislative effort, ultimately unsuccessful, to remove him from office. Mayr spoke with EcoAméricas correspondent Steven Ambrus in Bogotá. [Log in to read more]

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Juan Mayr

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Juan Mayr

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