Friends of the Earth Cardiff Cyfeillion y Ddaear Caerdydd

Today marks the first anniversary of the disappearance of 26-year-old Sandra Viviana Cuellar Gallego, an environmental engineer and activist from Cali, Colombia.

At the time of her disappearance, Sandra was on her way to the National University in Palmira, Valle del Cauca Department.

Her identity card and cell phone were found a few days later near where she was supposed to catch a bus.

The River Magdalena, Colombia. Photo: RitaCuba

The El Quimbo Hydroelectric Project is the first dam in Colombia built entirely by a multinational corporation, Emgesa. The dam would create a lake of about about 8,250 ha, almost twice the size of Lake Vyrnwy.

Photo: Ribera Conurbano Sur

A proposed development on the coast near Buenos Aires, Argentina, threatens ecological reserves and local communities.

Child with a skin disorder. Photo: Madre Tierra

Madre Tierra (Friends of the Earth Honduras) has denounced the health problems in Valle de Siria caused by a subsidiary of the Canadian gold company Goldcorp.

Photo: samurai/FreeDigitalPhotos

The Costa Rican Coordination Network on Biodiversity calling for European consumers to take action after the Costa Rican Government granted LM Veintiuno permission to expand the area cultivated with a genetically modified (GM) pineapple called “Piña Rose”.

Logo of Movimento dos Trabalhadores Rurais Sem Terra (MST)

The Rural Landless Peasant Movement (MST) have organized three land occupations in Rio Grande do Sul State in the south of Brazil. The occupations came as a result of the federal and state governments failing to deliver the promised agrarian reform.

Indigenous Bolivian demonstrators protesting in La Paz about the plan to build the TIPNIS highway. Photo: Gaston Brito, REUTERS.

Bolivia's first indigenous president, Evo Morales, announced he would call off a controversial highway construction project after nearly a thousand demonstrators from the Bolivian indigenous communities showed their opposition to the scheme.

Meeting about the dams with a banner saying Regulation for the companies does not stop the towns. Photo: Chico Sebastián

“The Mayor of San Mateo Ixtatan and the transnational companies are very close. Money plays an important part here, especially since we are 35 days away from the elections, when the Mayor will seek re-election”.

Marlon Lozano Yulan. Photo courtesy of Twitter

Ecuadorian land activist Marlon Lozano Yulan, of the Tierra y Vida (Land and Life) was murdered in Guayaquil, Ecuador on July 20 2011.

Civil society organisations in Colombia have reported the disappearance of Sandra Viviana Cuellar Gallego, in Cali on February 17 2011.

Sandra is a 26 year-old environmental engineer who works on water, basin protection and wetland issues. Her work involves advocating for the equal participation of local communities in the environmental decisions that affect them. She used to work with Censat Agua Viva / Friends of the Earth Colombia on forestry issues.