En el 2004 la empresa Hidro Xacbal S.A -parte del grupo empresarial hondureño Grupo Terra- compró a la familia Arenas Menes terreno ubicado en San Gaspar Chajul departamento del Quiché con el objetivo de construir la hidroeléctrica privada. |
El proyecto hidroeléctrico Xacbal, uno de los más grandes de Centroamérica bajo el Proyecto Mesoamérica, causó desplazamiento y ningún beneficio para la población local. A pesar de esto, está registrado bajo MDL y está en operación desde 2010.
Description:
Basic Data
| Name of conflict: | Proyecto hidroeléctrico Xacbal, Guatemala |
| Country: | Guatemala |
| State or province: | Quiché |
| Location of conflict: | San Gaspar, Chuajul |
| Accuracy of location | HIGH (Local level) |
Source of Conflict
| Type of conflict. 1st level: | Water Management |
| Type of conflict. 2nd level: | Water access rights and entitlements REDD/CDM Dams and water distribution conflicts |
| Specific commodities: | Land Electricity Water |
Project Details and Actors
| Project details | El proyecto incluye una presa de desvío, dos balsas de decantación, un canal de acometida |
| Project area: | 60,780 |
| Level of Investment for the conflictive project | 250,000,000 |
| Type of population | Rural |
| Affected Population: | 30 000 |
| Start of the conflict: | 06/2007 |
| Company names or state enterprises: | Hidro Xacbal S.A from Guatemala - owner SOLEL BONEH from Israel Grupo Terra from Guatemala - owner Compañía Extractora Minera de Occidente from Guatemala - constructora |
| Relevant government actors: | Ministerio de Ambiente y Recursos Naturales (MARN ), Netherlands CDM Facility for the Government of the Netherlands ; Netherlands 'Ministry of Infraestructure and the Environment (IenM) |
| International and Finance Institutions | Royal Bank of Trinidad & Tobago from Trinidad and Tobago Grupo financiero G&T Continental from Guatemala Banco Centroamericano de Integración Económica (BCIE) Clean Development Mechanism Executive Board (CDM Executive Board) |
| Environmental justice organizations (and other supporters) and their websites, if available: | Coordinadora Nacional Indígena y Campesina de Guatemala (CONIC), Pastoral Social de Ixcán, Colectivo Madre Selva, Frente Nacional de Afectados y Amenazados por Represas y en Defensa del Agua (FNAARD) |
Conflict & Mobilization
| Intensity | MEDIUM (street protests, visible mobilization) |
| Reaction stage | PREVENTIVE resistance (precautionary phase) |
| Groups mobilizing: | Indigenous groups or traditional communities Local ejos Local government/political parties Neighbours/citizens/communities Social movements Women Ethnically/racially discriminated groups |
| Forms of mobilization: | Objections to the EIA Official complaint letters and petitions Arguments for the rights of mother nature |
Impacts
| Environmental Impacts | Visible: Biodiversity loss (wildlife, agro-diversity), Floods (river, coastal, mudflow), Food insecurity (crop damage), Loss of landscape/aesthetic degradation, Deforestation and loss of vegetation cover, Surface water pollution / Decreasing water (physico-chemical, biological) quality, Reduced ecological / hydrological connectivity, Groundwater pollution or depletion, Large-scale disturbance of hydro and geological systems |
| Health Impacts | Visible: Mental problems including stress, depression and suicide |
| Socio-economical Impacts | Visible: Displacement, Loss of livelihood, Loss of traditional knowledge/practices/cultures, Militarization and increased police presence, Specific impacts on women, Violations of human rights, Land dispossession, Loss of landscape/sense of place Potential: Increase in Corruption/Co-optation of different actors, Increase in violence and crime |
Outcome
| Project Status | In operation |
| Conflict outcome / response: | Migration/displacement Negotiated alternative solution Repression Indemnizaciones sólo a una parte de los desplazados |
| Proposal and development of alternatives: | El pueblo Maya Ixil demandan la legalización de sus tierras ancestrales y además piden mayores beneficios para la zona. El Ph Xacbal no ha llevado energía eléctrica a las comunidades Ixil. |
| Do you consider this an environmental justice success? Was environmental justice served?: | No |
| Briefly explain: | El proyecto hidroeléctrico está operando desde el 2010 y aún los habitantes indígenas de los territorios inundados no han obtenido tierras legalizadas. Algunos grupos desplazados no han obtenido la inmdenización prometida. |
Sources & Materials
| Juridical relevant texts related to the conflict (laws, legislations, EIAs, etc) |
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| References to published books, academic articles, movies or published documentaries |
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Meta information
| Contributor: | Fundación Neotrópica |
| Last update | 13/11/2014 |
| Conflict ID: | 1613 |
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