Green Cross Argentina’s environmental impact assessment of the Botnia paper mills along the Rio Uruguay continues in Argentina and Uruguay to analyze the quality of transboundary air, soil and water in the region.

Recently Green Cross Argentina met with staff of the Universidad de Entre Ríos to discuss the main environmental problems of the city, during which the University researchers identified problems related to drinking water, sewage and the drainage of agrochemicals into rivers as the main environmental problems. However, citizens consider the paper mill as a serious problem.
The Environmental Assembly of Gualeguaychú is convinced that the main pipe from Botnia’s plant is “hidden somewhere” in the river and GC Argentina is conducting systematic measurement of water composition on a wide area of the Uruguay River during both normal operation and maintenance of the plant to locate the pipe based on scientific data of the flow of contaminants and changes in the quality of the water.
The giant USD $1.2 billion Finnish paper mills were established alongside the Rio Uruguay in 2006, a transboundary river site between Uruguay and Argentina despite objections by the Argentine government and local residents of the city of Gualeguaychu, who claimed that the mills violate the Transboundary River Treaty signed in 1975.
The Argentine government brought the issue to the International Court of Justice, which is due to make a decision at the end of the year.
