At the end of her visit, she made reference to a concern mentioned by social organizations on the “impact of some agro-industrial and mining megaprojects and the quantity and quality of water for the present and future generations”.

“I’d like to remind you that your Constitution provides in article 47 the priority use of water for human use, saying that social motives should go before economic ones. I therefore recommend the government to ensure that prior environmental impact studies are undertaken by independent third parties on the possible impacts of these projects on the realization of the right to water”, said the Rapporteur in her conclusions.

Forestation, agrotoxics, soy, feedlots and open-pit mining were some of the main threats mentioned by the Uruguayan organizations in their meeting with Albuquerque, Maria Selva Ortiz of REDES-Friends of the Earth Uruguay told Real World Radio.

The activist recalled that the United Nations included access to safe drinking water and sanitation as fundamental rights and that the Rapporteur is now surveying the situation in different countries.

Both REDES and the National Commission in Defense of Water and Life emphasized the lack of implementation of the priority use provided under the Constitution.

Ortiz mentioned the example of the Rocha Lagoon, to the east of Uruguay. Basin committees were created and they requested the help of the University of the Republic to analyze the effects of forestation. She also mentioned the controversial project to build a bridge over Garzon lagoon, recently approved by the government.

She recalled that in the seventies, under the military regime (between 1973 and 1985) several conventions were ratified. “The military dried the wetlands to promote rice production”.

Ortiz said the building of the bridge directly affects the Biosphere reserve. It respons to a tourist model that damages the ecosystems and the environment and ends up favoring Argentinean businessman Eduardo Constantini.