In Corsica, in the town of Giuncaggiu, a project for a landfill of
household waste and asbestos threatens the Tavignanu, a river essentialfor the supply of drinking water and irrigation for the entire region. Acitizen collective, Tavignanu-Vivu, has been organizing since 2016 toresist it. ---- The Tavignanu is the longest river in Corsica after theGolo (88.7 km). It originates in the center of the island, near Corti at1743 meters above sea level and its mouth is on the eastern coast of theisland. The region is partly classified Natura 2000, and the riverinventoried ZNIEFF[1]. It is one of the richest ecosystems inbiodiversity in Corsica.This does not prevent a local company, "Oriente Environnement" fromplanning to set up a technical landfill center for household waste andasbestos waste (CET) in a bend of the river. She owns the land toaccommodate it in the commune of Giuncaggiu. It is known to begeologically unstable and regularly submerged by the river in flood andis located upstream of the catchments for drinking and irrigation waterthroughout the region.All the elements for a real ecological and human catastrophe to occurare there. It is to fight against the installation of this CET whichthreatens the Tavignanu river, the surrounding biodiversity and thehealth of the inhabitants of the region that the citizen collective"Tavignanu-Vivu" (the living Tavignanu) was born in January 2016. ).A long legal battleAt the end of 2016, the Prefect of Haute Corse, relying on the variousexpert opinions, all negative (public inquiry, CODERST, INAO, etc.)refused the operating authorization to the company Oriente Environnementwhich appealed the decision to the court administrative office of Bastia.In November 2019, the Administrative Court of Bastia issued theauthorization. Tavignanu-Vivu, joined by the Corsican environmentalprotection association "U Levante" (see box) and the Corsican Community,is in turn appealing this decision. The appeal was rejected by theMarseille Administrative Court of Appeal in July 2020. An appeal wasfiled before the Council of State which also rejected it in April 2021and validated the authorization.On July 7, 2023, "U Levante" in a press release provided proof that theplots intended to accommodate the CET are indeed listed as StrategicAgricultural Areas (ESA) by the PADDUC[2]and that as such, the lawprohibits their conversions into industrial projects. The associationwarns: "no building permit can henceforth be granted on the ESAs of theTavignanu meander, if it were granted it would be voidable".Rights for Tavignanu?In 2021, while the possibilities of recourse in France are exhausted,the collective "Tavignanu-Vivu" assisted by the environmentalistassociation "Notre Affaire à Tous" and inspired by the "UniversalDeclaration of the Rights of Rivers of the Earth Law Center» launches"the declaration of rights of the Tavignanu river" with the ambition ofmaking it legally binding after the organization of a local consultationon the status of the river. The approach is part of a vast internationalmovement.Rights are notably granted to Nature by the Constitution of Ecuador, bylaws in Australia or New Zealand, or by judgments in India and Colombia.In Spain, the "Mar Menor" officially became "the first natural area inEurope with its own legal entity" on September 21, 2022.In France, since the Tavignanu "Declaration", similar initiatives havemultiplied: Appeal of the Rhône, Parliament of the Loire, declaration ofTêt in the Pyrénées-Orientales...Winding through the Corsican mountains before flowing into theMediterranean, the Tavignanu is a jewel to be preserved for some and apotential source of profits to be bled for others.What can we expect from it?It certainly depends on the legal frameworks in which these rights aregranted, in places they are only symbolic, elsewhere they could be morerestrictive. While it remains obvious that only a radical change in thesystem and in our way of understanding nature will allow us tosustainably safeguard our ecosystems, legal procedures can help slowdown the implementation of ecocidal projects.Projects which sometimes end up no longer being economically viable dueto changes in prices or regulations that accompany climate change. It istherefore one more tool for our struggles, which we must neitheroverestimate nor neglect.As the list of building permits that the State issues illegally inCorsica continues to grow, Tavignanu-Vivu and his many supporters remainmore mobilized than ever. A petition and a complaint, pointing out theproject's numerous breaches of European directives, will be filed withthe European authorities in the fall.Corsican society as a whole (population, associations, localinstitutions) rejects this destructive project but private property andthe system which protects it once again authorize a handful of unethicalentrepreneurs to mortgage the future of a common good in the The soleobjective of being able to make profits in the short term.Vigilance remains essential and only strong citizen mobilizationalongside the associations on the front line will allow us to obtain thedefinitive abandonment of this disastrous project.Pasquale Angelini (UCL Corsica link)U LevanteU Levante is an environmental protection association created in 1986,completely independent and not benefiting from any subsidies. Itscollegial office is made up of experts, jurists, lawyers, allvolunteers. It fights mainly on legal grounds by attacking illegalbuilding permits in court.The association enjoys strong support from the population and despiteattacks, death threats and violent defamation campaigns, it hascontinued its work without wavering since its creation. But if thecourts regularly confirm the illegality of building permits, they almostnever require deconstruction, as illustrated recently during the trialbetween MP Marc Ferracci and the association. And the fines which candiscourage the small developer are simply "budgeted" by the mafia gangsand their supporters who speculate on the island.To validate[1]Natural Areas of Ecological, Fauna and Floristic Interest[2]Corsica's sustainable development and planning plan.https://www.unioncommunistelibertaire.org/?Guerre-de-l-eau-Corse-Tavignanu-Vivu_________________________________________A - I N F O S N E W S S E R V I C EBy, For, and About AnarchistsSend news reports to A-infos-en mailing listA-infos-en@ainfos.ca
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