Following the amendment to the Glacier Law approved by Congress on April 9th, to the detriment of the environment and ignoring public outcry, a class action was filed in the Federal Court of the province of La Pampa to challenge the unconstitutionality of the reform.

This collective action, driven by Fundación Ambiente y Recursos Naturales (FARN), Asociación Argentina de Abogados/as Ambientalistas (AAdeAA) and Greenpeace, is backed by over 850.000 signatures. It seeks an urgent injunction to protect Argentina’s water, demanding the suspension of Law No. 27,804, which weakens the protection of glaciers and periglacial environment throughout national territory.

Unconstitutionality of the Glacier Law Reform

The class action argues that the reform of the Glacier Law violates the General Environmental Law, the non-regression principle of the Escazú Agreement, and the system of minimum environmental standards established in Argentina’s National Constitution.

The lawsuit requests the suspension of any regulation, resolution, administrative act, or authorization linked to the new norm. This includes:

• Mining exploration or exploitation projects whose areas overlap with glaciers declared in the National Glacier Inventory.
• And those that conflict with technical reports prepared by the Argentine Institute of Nivology, Glaciology, and Environmental Sciences (IANIGLA).

The reform replaces common scientific criteria with discretionary decisions by each province on which areas to protect. Far from being a technical update, it is an attempt to fragment the protection of resources that feed 40% of the nation’s watersheds and guarantee water for more than 7 million people.

Aftermath of an Irregular Process

This legal action follows a legislative process marked by irregularities. On one hand, a truncated public hearing where around 102,000 people registered, yet less than 0.2% were able to participate orally. The participation modality was altered after registrations had opened, using criteria that did not meet relevant transparency requirements.

At the same time, the transfer of National Treasury Contributions (ATN) funds and co-participation advances during March caused alarm: nearly 5,000,000 million pesos were allocated to tip the scales in favor of the Glacier Law reform.

A Nationwide Class Action

The legal action’s plaintiff group includes Marta Maffei, author of the Glacier Law No. 26,639, enacted in 2010, alongside a broad network of local assemblies and organizations from across the country, such as: Asamblea Jachal no se Toca, Asamblea Popular por el Agua, Asamblea Pucará, Asamblea en Defensa del Territorio, Asamblea Santa Cruz por el Agua, Multisectorial Golfo San Matías, Asamblea el Paraná No se Toca and Asociación Alihuén.It also receives support from human rights and civil society organizations, including Amnesty International, Centro de Estudios Legales y Sociales (CELS) and Círculo de Políticas Ambientales.