Patagonia’s bishops from Chile and Argentina have called for a “World Water Plan” and more efficient managing of natural resources to combat environmental threats to their region.

In a letter to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon ahead of the UN climate summit in Copenhagen, the bishops said that access to water is a human right and should be a motive for solidarity, justice and equity among peoples.

“We are deeply concerned by the threats afflicting Patagonia arising from mining, hydroelectric, aquatic, forestry and even nuclear waste projects, which will seriously and irreversibly damage nature and human life in this ‘life reserve’ of the planet,” said the bishops.

They said that world leaders have an ethical, moral and political responsibility to safeguard water resources for future generations.

The UN says that almost 900 million people worldwide don’t have access to an adequate quantity of safe fresh water for their daily needs.

The bishops who have made the call are Bishop Luis Infanti de la Mora, Vicar Apostolic f Aysén and Bishop Bernado Bastres Florence of Punta Arenas in Chile; and from Argentina: Bishop Marcelo Melani of Neuquén, Bishop Nestor Hugo Navarro of Alto Valle, Bishop José Pedro Pozzi – Bishop Emeritus of Alto Valle, Bishop Esteban Laxague of Viedma, Bishop Fernando Maletti of San Carlos de Bariloche, Bishop José Slaby of Esquel, Bishop Virginio Bressanelli of Comodoro Rivadavia and Bishop Juan Carlos Romanin of Río Gallegos.

For more information, please contact Michelle Hough on +39 06 69879721/+39 334 2344136 or hough@caritas.va