Poverty, Human Rights and Environment

CEDHA began its work in 2003 with the goal of identifying environmental degradation and its victims in order to identify and promote solutions.

CEDHA approaches environmental degradation not only as a threat to our ecology, but also as a violation of human rights to those populations affected by the abuses, who often represent the poorest sectors of society, whose quality of life is diminished.

Three steps :
1/ CEDHA´s research consists first of assessing the current situation by identifying the environmental challenges that exist in Córdoba. With this information, we then establish a global and detailed diagnostic of Córdoba city, with the goal of promoting general awareness and knowledge of the links between poverty, human rights and environment.

2/ The diagnostic developed the first step allows CEDHA to develop strategies to improve the current situation. These strategies focus primarily on the idea that everybody has the right to a worthy existence, to a healthy environment, to health and alimentation.

3/ These strategies target public actors in order to promote change in public policies of poverty and the environment.
CEDHA, as organization, intervenes at 2 levels:

1/ Interaction with the other local organizations:
CEDHA participates in the Network of Communities Organizations of Córdoba (ROCC), which provides a forum for addressing problems that affect the various communities throughout the city. Additionally, CEDHA promotes the interaction between local organizations by facilitating joint activities, such as meetings with public officials, events and presentations on issues of common interest and shared challenges. In this way, CEDHA works to unite the local organizations in our common goal to defend the human rights of our residents.

2/ Interaction with the affected population:
CEDHA works to educate the public about their right to a healthy environment and on the ways in which environmental degradation impacts the quality of life in their communities. In this way, CEDHA aims to develop a social consciousness of the importance of asserting one´s rights and the ways to seek justice in Córdoba.
In concrete terms, this sharing of information is accomplished through the development of activities such as workshops, forums, and debates on the environmental topics which affect the community.

Finally, our Poverty, Human Rights and Environment Program carries out research in local communities in order to gain a better understanding of the impact of regressive and discriminatory environmental and development policies on the rural and urban poor. Our goal is to generate policy solutions for the most serious environmental and human rights challenges faced by these populations.