Article by PBI-Canada

On December 3, the Peace Brigades International-Colombia Project posted: “Today, PBI accompanied members of ACVC-RAN holding the inter-institutional meeting Building peace from the territories. The organization, accompanied by PBI since 2007, participated in the space as part of an initiative of the Colombian Northeast protection route.”

ACVC-RAN refers to the Campesina Association of the Cimitarra River Valley – National Agroecological Network.

The “protection route” noted above, also referred to as the Collective Protection Route, is a set of actions adopted by Colombian authorities to prevent risk, counteract threats and minimize the vulnerabilities of groups and communities.

PBI-Colombia has previously noted: “PBI accompanies the ACVC who focus their work on the Campesino Reserve Zones (ZRC) and sustainable development, the development of agricultural projects in areas of education and health.”

The ACVC’s economic development projects, designed to guarantee food security for the peasant farmer population in the valley, includes small-scale rice farming, as well as sugar cane production.

PBI-Colombia has also explained: “The Campesino Reserve Zones are an example of community-driven resistance [that] promote food security and sustainable agriculture, challenging the economic model based on the extraction of natural resources and large-scale land exploitation through agribusiness.”

PBI-Colombia has also noted: “The hydrocarbon industry has played a fundamental role in the economic activity of the [Cimitarra River Valley] region, generating approximately 70% of the total economic value produced there.”

Further to that point, International Action for Peace has noted: “There was talk [at the Festival for Culture and Peasant Dignity in Puerto Nuevo Ité that was hosted by ACVC-RAN in 2018] about the problem of fracking and the threat of this activity in the Serranía de San Lucas and the wetlands of the Magdalena Medio.”

PBI-Colombia began accompanying ACVC-RAN in 2007 and has since expanded its accompaniment emphasizing political advocacy to raise awareness about the problems faces by the organization and the region in which they carry out their work.