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Bartoli, Jorge et al v. Santa Fe Province - petition

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Bartoli, Jorge et al v. Santa Fe Province - reply

judgment

Bartoli, Jorge et al v. Santa Fe Province - judgment

Filing Year For Action

In 2020, a group of individuals and NGOs filed two similar claims against the Province of Santa Fe, challenging its management of fishing activities in the face of a critical lowering of the Paraná River levels. Together with a precautionary measure, the plaintiffs asked the judge to order the Province to elaborate an integral and participative Plan to protect the river basin’s aquatic fauna and fish resources. Although the claim made only a passing reference to climate change to highlight the increasing pressure that the aquatic fauna is suffering and will suffer due to climatic changes, the Public Prosecutor introduced a climate focus to the case. On May 31, 2021, the Public Prosecution Office intervened in the case as a party, supporting the plaintiffs’ stance and asking for new remedies from the judge. Among other arguments, the Prosecutor observed that the second Argentinean NDC had identified the “extraordinarily low water levels in the rivers” causing problems to “subsistence fishermen…” as a climate risk for the Santa Fe region and referred to the IPCC reports and the Paris Agreement to allege the need for public authorities to implement climate adaptation measures, including the need of livelihood diversification of vulnerable groups. According to the Prosecutor, in this case, this was connected to the effective functioning and implementation of two institutional mechanisms: the Provincial Reconversion Council and the Fishery Reconversion and Fishermen's Assistance Fund. The Prosecutor observed that these two mechanisms, which were not currently functioning, had been created with aims that ‘certainly constitute climate adaptation measures’ to protect vulnerable groups of fishermen in the region. In this sense, the Prosecutor maintained that their “implementation is an urgent tool for a satisfactory solution to the socio-environmental conflict suffered by the fishermen of Santa Fe and the ecosystem of the Paraná River, not only in terms of the current low water levels, but also those that will continue to occur due to climate change.”

On June 22, 2023, the Court decided the case in favor of the plaintiffs and, among other measures, ordered the Province to elaborate an integral, informed, public, and participative “Strategic Plan for the sustainable use of the aquatic resources.” Even though the Court avoided mentioning climate change or climate adaptation in its judgment, it engaged with and sustained the Public Prosecutor’s arguments regarding the need to implement both the Provincial Reconversion Council and the Fishery Reconversion and Fishermen's Assistance Fund in order to allow for the “reconversion, adaptation, and diversification of the fishing activity and its social actors, with the clear objective of cushioning the impact that possible situations of closure or restrictions to the activity resulting from environmental crises could have on their economies.”  The Province of Santa Fe has appealed the judgment.

On April 23, 2024, the Court of Appeal upheld the decision of the District Court. The Province of Santa Fe decided not to appeal.  

Bartoli, Jorge et al v. Santa Fe Province

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An aim to achieve a quantifiable outcome within a given time-frame, set by an institution such as a national government.

Policy instruments are techniques or tools used by governing authorities to promote certain policies in order to achieve predetermined goals. Put simply, instruments are how a government tries to achieve its goals, with this taxonomy being focused on national policy instruments.

Risk is the potential for adverse consequences resulting from the dynamic interplay between (climate-related) hazards, exposure, and vulnerability of affected human or ecological systems.

Groups  of people who are adversely affected by climate change or the response to it

A set of principles, processes, and practices that build economic and political power to shift from an extractive economy to a regenerative economy.

Renewable energy means all forms of energy produced from renewable sources in a sustainable manner.

Fossil fuel is a generic term for non-renewable energy sources such as coal, fossil gas, and oil (including crude oil, and petroleum products), that can be used for electricity and heat generation. Fossil fuels are hydrocarbons formed from pressurised and heated organic material buried over millions of years.

Molecules in the atmosphere that play a key role in the greenhouse effect by trapping heat radiating from Earth’s surface.

Area of the economy in which actors engage in identical or related activities.

In human systems, the process of adjustment to actual or expected climate change and its effects, in order to moderate harm, increase resilience or exploit beneficial opportunities. In natural systems, the process of adjustment to actual climate change and its effects; human intervention may facilitate adjustment to expected climate change and its effects.

The management and allocation of funds, assets and investments to meet various objectives

This sector involves the wholesale and retail selling of goods.

Terrestrial means "of the earth" and relates to the risks to ecological system that includes all living organisms and their interactions within land-based environments, such as forests, grasslands, and deserts.

A ban is a legal action that prevents the sale or supply of a product or service, or that recalls a product from the market. Examples are bans on SF6, greenwashing, fossil fuel advertisement or single-use plastics.

This sector includes firms and individuals offering specialised expertise in fields such as law, accounting, consulting, science and engineering.

Using laws and the legal system more broadly to protect vulnerable entities

An integrated system of hazard monitoring, forecasting and prediction, that enables individuals, communities, governments, businesses and others to take timely action to reduce disaster risks in advance of hazardous events.

Activities involving the catching, processing, and selling of fish for food, recreation, and industry.

Actions to adapt human health, healthcare systems and well-being to climate change.

Activities that provide lodging, food, and entertainment services to guests, including hotels, restaurants, and resorts.

This sector creates and distributes information and entertainment through television, radio, print, and digital platforms.

Actions or measures to adapt freshwater systems to climate change.

People who are less able to respond to the effects of climate change due to having limited financial or physical assets

Slow onset events evolve gradually from incremental changes over many years or from increased frequency or intensity of recurring events. As defined in the Cancun Adaptation Framework (2010), slow onset events include risks and impacts from rising temperatures, desertification, biodiversity loss, land and forest degradation, glacial retreat, ocean acidification, sea level rise, and salinization.

People who have left their homes, whether through force, voluntarily, or a mixture of both

Activities that involve the cultivation of crops and raising of livestock for food, fibre, and other products essential for human life and industry.

Electrical energy generated from mechanical devices driven by flowing fresh water.

Either money or something of monetary value is transferred between two or more organisations, people or countries.

Coastal zone and marine-related actions and measures to adapt and increase resilience to climate change

This sector involves the distribution, treatment, and conservation of water resources.

Climate change impacts our society by disrupting the natural, economic and social systems we depend on. Physical hazards and underlying vulnerabilities can lead to increased resource competition for food and water, which can heighten the risk of conflict.

Actions or measures to adapt freshwater, coastal and marine systems to climate change.

Codes and standards are regulatory instruments that specify minimum standards to protect health and safety. This ranges from performance standards, which prescribe outcomes while allowing flexibility to achieve compliance, to the more prescriptive approach of technology-specific standards.

Activities of government agencies and institutions that provide public services, enforce laws and manage public resources.

Extreme weather refers to events where a weather variable exceeds (or falls below) a threshold. Meaning it is significantly different from the average or usual weather pattern.

This sector involves activities that impart knowledge and skills to individuals, including formal schooling, vocational training and educational support.

Social inclusion is the process of improving the terms on which individuals and groups take part in society—improving the ability, opportunity, and dignity of those disadvantaged on the basis of their identity.

Bartoli, Jorge et al v. Santa Fe Province - judgment

Target

Policy instrument

Risk

Impacted group

Just transition

Renewable energy

Economic sector

Adaptation/resilience

Finance