MEXICO CITY – Two European development banks financing construction of a controversial dam project in Honduras are pulling out following the murders of local activists including Berta Caceres, a 2015 winner of the prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize.
The Netherlands Development Finance Institution and the Finnish Fund for Industrial Cooperation say in a joint statement Thursday that the decision to halt their involvement in the Agua Zarca dam was reached after consultation with stakeholders.
Caceres was awarded the Goldman prize for leading the fight against the dam. She was killed in March 2016 by gunmen who invaded her home, and two other activists with Caceres’ indigenous rights organization were slain in the following weeks and months.
Among those arrested in Caceres’ death was a security employee who worked on behalf of the dam developer.
