Aerocene was present at the Water Village of the Soulèvements de la Terre (Uprisings of the Earth) in France from 16 to 21 July. More than 10,000 water defenders gathered in Melle, Poitiers and La Rochelle, in West France, to call for a moratorium on the construction of mega-reservoirs in the region. These mega-reservoirs, built for the benefit of industrial agriculture, constitute a water grab that works to the detriment of small-scale farmers, by reducing their access to already over-exploited water resources and destroying ecosystems.
Aerocene flew an aerosolar balloon in the Water Village with the movement slogan « La Terre de soulève », the Earth is uprising, in support of the local action. Numerous international delegations were participating to discuss the struggles against water grabbing around the world. As Greta Thunberg, who was present at the event, pointed out, “This exploitation of freshwater all over the world – water privatisation, pollution and water grabbing – has exacerbated water scarcity, endangering countless people’s and communities’ lives and livelihoods’.
Mega-basins are giant pools, sometimes up to 18 hectares in size, lined with plastic and filled with pumped groundwater. They are the latest rush forward in an agro-industrial model that has been degrading and drying out our living environments for too long. The construction of mega-basins grabbing water for the benefit of a minority of farmers has accelerated in recent years, partly because of the climate crisis and more intense and frequent droughts.
While this ecological violence has led to conflict and difficulties in gaining access to increasingly scarce water resources, it has also given rise to resistance from movements and communities. For a long time, people have been fighting to guarantee everyone’s rights: environmental, climate and water justice. Support the struggles of our comrades in the Jujuy salt flats, who tirelessly continue to say that WATER AND LIFE ARE WORTH MORE THAN LITHIUM!!!!
