Edith Taborda is an Indigenous mother of two girls who belongs to the Embera Karamba community in Quinchia (Risaralda). She is also an activist against mining projects. 

Since 2011 her community has observed the actions of Canadian company corporations such as Batero Gold Corp through its Colombian subsidiary Minera Quinchia SAS and Seafield Resources Ltd. in their territory.

Early on, some people thought their presence was good but local opinion quickly turned against the mining companies.

Ecojustice and MiningWatch Canada head to court this week to defend Fish Lake ("Teztan Biny" in Tsilhqot'in) from a risky mining project.

Mining projects often put communities and the environment in great peril -- we only need to look to the Mount Polley tailings spill to see an example of the long-lasting devastation they can cause.

That's why we'll be in court this week to help uphold a federal assessment that found the New Prosperity mine project in Tsilhqot'in territory in central B.C. would have serious ecological and cultural impacts.

No less than six cabinet ministers stood in the foyer of the House of Commons yesterday to announce sweeping reviews of key environmental laws. The details are not clear yet -- in fact, the government has (perhaps wisely) asked for public input before it finalizes the review processes.

It is clear that there is an opportunity to not only undo the damage that the Harper government had done to environmental assessment and the protection of fish and fish habitat, but to go much further and fundamentally change our approach to environmental planning and industrial development.

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The Nahua Indigenous community of Zacualpan in the state of Colima, Mexico set out to learn about the implications of potential mining activities in 2013.

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In a small but significant step towards ending corporate impunity for destroying the environment and people's health, the Supreme Court of Canada has ruled that Ecuadoran villagers should be allowed to try to get hold of Chevron assets in Canada, to collect on the $9.51 billion (USD) that Ecuadoran courts had awarded them for extensive pollution of the Amazon rainforest.

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A new report by the UN Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in Eritrea describes "a totalitarian state bent on controlling Eritreans through a vast security apparatus that has penetrated all levels of society." Nevsun's Bisha gold-copper mine is repeatedly cited for appalling labour abuses by the company's Eritrean contractors, including forced labour and inhuman living and working conditions.

The findings clearly echo the charges levelled against the company last year in a lawsuit on behalf of former workers at the site.

The range of alleged human rights allegations that the commission investigated is extraordinary:

On November 24, 2014, Donald Paul Gray, vice president of Tahoe Resources Inc., submitted an affadavit to the British Columbia Superior Court that sheds light on the powerful interests at play since 2011 in connection with private security companies contracted for the Escobal mining project in San Rafael Las Flores, Santa Rosa. His affidavit points to the relationship between private security companies and military and intelligence services that carry out large military projects in Afghanistan and Iraq, and with mining and construction operations in Guatemala.