Rowing against the current
ROWING AGAINST THE CURRENT
Coordinated by: Fundación Eco Urbano, Movimientos Cuidadores de la Casa Común, Amb.Art – Network for Art and Environment, Asociación La Paternal Espacio Proyecto, with the support of 180 organizations across Argentina.
Year of Inception: 2024 – Present
Location: Paraná River, Argentina
Contacto: [email protected]
Web: http://remarcontracorriente.org
IG: https://www.instagram.com/remar.contracorriente/
Description, Concept, Objectives
“Rowing Against the Current for Water and Life” is a socio-environmental campaign that denounces the impacts of the extractivist model imposed on the Paraná River, particularly through the Paraguay-Paraná Waterway project. Its main goal is to defend water, environmental, and territorial sovereignty by raising awareness of the threats facing river ecosystems and riverside communities. The campaign also aims to strengthen collective organization, civic participation, and legal actions to halt extractivism and recover sovereign management of the Paraná River.
Activities
-Launch of the campaign on February 2nd (World Wetlands Day) with awareness-raising activities in defense of wetlands.
-Organization of a symbolic and territorial rowing journey led by Luis “Cosita” Romero from Formosa to Rosario, between March 1st and 22nd, replicating a historic resistance action carried out in 1996.
-Stops in various riverside cities during the journey, where community gatherings, talks, and public outreach were held.
-Promotion of legal actions to halt the bidding process for the Main Navigable Waterway.
-Collaboration with socio-environmental organizations, Indigenous peoples, fishing communities, and social movements across the region.
Difficulties
-Lack of institutional support and political resistance to halting the advance of the extractivist model.
-Limited financial and logistical resources to sustain a broad, decentralized campaign.
-Legal obstacles posed by regulatory frameworks favoring private and transnational actors.
-Risks to environmental defenders who denounce the prevailing model, amidst a context of increasing criminalization of social protest.
-Disinformation or lack of interest in certain segments of the population regarding the real impacts of the waterway project.
Futures Challenges
-Continuing grassroots education and local awareness-raising efforts.
-Strengthening strategic litigation to stop the bidding process for the Main Navigable Waterway and restore public control over river management.
-Expanding regional alliances to build shared and sovereign governance over watersheds and natural resources.
-Promoting alternative models for the sustainable management of water and wetlands, led by local communities, Indigenous peoples, and fishers.
-Influencing public policy to ensure the preservation of river ecosystems and water justice.
