Request for Constitutional Protection for Earth Rights Defenders Affected by Chadin 2 Hydroelectric Power Plant.

The Chadín 2 Hydroelectric Plant is one of more than 20 hydroelectric projects planned on the Marañón River in Peru. In 2011, the Peruvian government declared the project of national interest and in 2014, the Ministry of Energy and Mines granted it the concession of the project and approved its Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA).

The project will create energy by damming of the waters of the Marañón River, whose reservoir will have an area of 32.5 square kilometers along 22 kilometers of the river, consequently flooding the surrounding territories. This would displace at least 1,000 people living in Cajamarca and Amazonas, resulting in irreparable loss of land, irreversible damage to dry forests, and a would jeopardize their ecosystem.

The affected communities filed a landmark lawsuit against the Peruvian government, requesting the immediate cancellation of the project.