‘Water yes, mining no!’: the 87-year-old farmer who became a nature hero in Colombia

Porfirio Garcés is one of the ‘Jerico 11’, who face kidnapping charges after opposing a copper mine. Now, with a far-right president prioritising extraction, their fight has become more urgent In the rural hamlet of Palo Cabildo in Colombia ’s western Andes, 87-year-old farmer Porfirio Garcés tends to his anthuriums in the garden of his small house. He talks with passion about his vinyl record collection, which ranges from classical to pop music, but his main interest now lies elsewhere: his homeland, to which he feels a deep connection – and his desire to protect it. Numerous water sources originate in the area, supplying not only Jericó, where Garcés lives, but also several neighbouring to

What is happening The Guardian reports: Porfirio Garcés is one of the ‘Jerico 11’, who face kidnapping charges after opposing a copper mine. Now, with a far-right president prioritising extraction, their fight has become more urgent In the rural hamlet of Palo Cabildo in Colombia ’s western Andes, 87-year-old farmer Porfirio Garcés tends to his anthuriums in the garden of his small house. He talks with passion about his vinyl record collection, which ranges from classical to pop music, but his main interest now lies elsewhere: his homeland, to which he feels a deep connection – and his desire to protect it. Numerous water sources originate in the area, supplying not only Jericó, where Garcés lives, but also several neighbouring to The problem The public problem in this report is the one named by the source: “‘Water yes, mining no!’: the 87-year-old farmer who became a nature hero in Colombia”. A response on MLAIEL should not add a cause, a number, or a remedy the source does not state. Open the source for the detail. What a team can do on MLAIEL A team can read the source, then open a project to track the environmental problem it names — climate, pollution, water, energy, drought, or emissions, only as the source describes them. Record what is already known, who is affected, and one careful next step that does not add facts the source left out. Source The Guardian — ‘Water yes, mining no!’: the 87-year-old farmer who became a nature hero in Colombia https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2026/oct/01/water-yes-mining-no-the-87-year-old-farmer-who-became-a-nature-hero-in-colombia