Source: AIDA. On May 11, 313 organizations and 31 people from all over the world, delivered a letter to Dr. Jim Yong Kim, President of the World Bank, in response to his declarations this past April 6, during the Union Theological Seminary in New York.

Download letter at: AIDA (Interamerican Association for Environmental Defense).

During his presentation, and in response to a question on the impacts of large dams evidenced by the murder of Berta Caceres in Honduras, Dr. Kim, among other comments, responded, “You cannot do the work we’re

trying to do and not have some of these ‘incidents’ happen.” The organizations and people signing the letter consider that the declarations of the President of the World Bank are unacceptable, for which they ask for a public apology and to issue an immediate clarification.

[To see Dr. Kim’s statements, view here.]

The letter also calls for Dr. Kim “to apologize to Berta Cáceres’ family and to the community of civil society organizations, human rights defenders, indigenous, afro-descendant, and rural communities, among others, that have been affected” by his statements.

Large dams are still being planned throughout Latin America despite their tremendous social, environmental and economic impacts on local communities. This includes Chile, where the Ministry of Energy is developing a watershed mapping project to prioritize hydropower in watersheds like the Futaleufu, Puelo, and Valdivia.

More than 30 Waterkeeper organizations from 9 countries signed the letter, including the two in Chile (Futaleufu Riverkeeper and our sister organization, Maule Itata Coastkeeper).