Thursday, January 04, 2018

Morales Lies

Lake Poopó was once Bolivia’s second largest body of water. The high-altitude lake – habitat to some 200 species of birds, mammals and fish – had always fluctuated in size. But in recent years, the droughts became longer. In November 2014, millions of fish and birds suddenly perished, rotting where they lay. By late 2015, the lake which had once covered 2,400 sq km, dried up completely, seemingly for good.

“The death of the lake is killing people’s hope for their futures in the region,” says Clayton Whitt, a Vancouver-based anthropologist. “It’s too terrible to contemplate.”

The  government of Evo Morales has “blamed climate change exclusively for the lake’s disappearance, while ignoring the other factors”, Tom Perreault, a geographer at Syracuse University told the Guardian. This allows it “to cast blame on industrialized countries, mostly the US, and avoid taking any responsibility for the lake’s drying or rehabilitation”.

Water withdrawals for irrigation from upstream rivers reduce the lake’s size, he says.  The huge amount of water used by nearby mines, and the contamination they produce, also has a catastrophic effect, Perreault added.

Recent government action involves river dredging and pollution containment efforts, but few think they will be enough. Morales is unlikely to enforce regulations that could hurt the region’s miners, a key component of his support.

The larger Lake Titicaca, itself is under threat.

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