Indigenous peoples of El Salvador ask for protection of sacred sites

The construction of a dam on the Sensunapán river, in the western municipality of Nahuizalco, is of concern to the indigenous peoples of El Salvador, since, if carried out, it would destroy at least 11 sacred sites.

“Both Micultura and MARN are directly responsible for violations of the cultural and environmental rights of the indigenous communities of Nahuizalco and Sonsonate, by not providing any type of protection to sacred sites and environmental assets,” several indigenous organizations said in a statement.

In this river, they also assured that there are common graves with the remains of thousands of people massacred in 1932 by the dictatorship of Maximiliano Hernández Martínez. These organizations are supported by the Procurator for the Defense of Human Rights (PDDH) of El Salvador, an institution that in 2014 had already expressed its concern about this water project, since it violated the right of indigenous populations to obtain water.

This project had already been rejected by the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (MARN), in 2014, according to local media GatoEncerrado, however the government of Nayib Bukele received requests for it to be launched again, and in 2019 the project was resumed.

According to the PDDH, the entire country could experience water stress by 2022, and life could be unviable by 2080, due to the lack of access to drinking water sources for the majority of the population and wildlife.