4.5 - Environmental Issues of Latin America

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As a resource rich environment, threats to the environment began as soon as people arrived. As population densities have increased and per capita consumption continues to grow, the environment is under increasing threat.

Destruction and Protection of the Rainforests

Latin American rainforest are being destroyed by multiple human activities. One of the biggest threats is the clearing of land for agriculture: mostly for soybeans, cattle, African oil palm (for cooking oil) and sugarcane. If deforestation continues at its current rate, the natural forest cover could be entirely gone in 20 years.  This is an issue of global consequence. Together, all of the Earth's tropical rainforests absorb about 18% of the CO2 added to the atmosphere annually due to human activity.  Because 50% of the Earth's remaining tropical rainforest are in South America, keeping these forests intact is crucial to confronting climate change.

Hardwood logging and mining including oil, gas, metals and precious stones, contribute to deforestation.  Investment capital for logging is coming from Asian multinational corporations that have turned to the Amazon after having logged 50% of the rainforests of Southeast Asia. The roads that have been built to support these activities, including the Trans-Amazonian Highway have helped accelerate deforestation  by opening up the forest to new migrants. The governments of Peru, Ecuador, and Brazil encourage impoverished urban dwellers to move to cheap land along the newly built roads. 

There is a growing movement to preserve the world's remaining forests. Brazil introduced legislation that was in effect between 2005 and 2010 discouraging the cultivation of soybeans on once forested land. These regulations decreased deforestation by 75%.  However, as Brazil's economy has lagged the government is now supporting new road and hydroelectric development within the Amazon and deforestation rates have risen significantly.

In other parts of Latin America, an effort is underway to earn income from their intact environments through ecotourism.  Ecotourism is now the most rapidly growing segment of global tourism, which in turn has been one of the World's fastest growing industries. Latin America now has more nationally protected land than anywhere else in the developing world.

Costa Rica is a world leader in protecting its environment. Approximately 28% of its land is preserved in National Parks, reserves or wildlife refuges. About 25% of its original forests remain.  They are pioneering efforts to connect these areas with wildlife corridors. Throughout Latin America, "Debt for nature" swaps area popping up where a Conservation group buys a countries' national debt in return for protection of wild lands.

Ecotourism has its downsides - if mismanaged it can be similar to other kinds of tourism, damaging the environment and returning little to communities. Places can be "loved to death".

Air Pollution

Most Latin American cities have air pollution issues, especially Mexico City and Santiago, Chile. Throughout the region air pollution is becoming an increasing problem and Latin Americans are looking for innovative solutions. 

In El Salvador, for example, the number of vehicles have doubled since 1990. There are now 500,000 cars. It is estimated that 70% of all urban air pollution in Central America is from vehicles. Most Latin American countries do not have standards for fuel efficiency, vehicle emissions, or fuel quality. Pollution here, as elsewhere in the World, has lead to premature deaths, crop losses and ecosystem damage.

Efforts are being made to confront the issue. In some cities, driving is restricted to certain days and times based on your license plate number. Mexico City is particularly vulnerable to air pollution. It sits in a bowl, surrounded by mountains. Pollutants are trapped by temperature inversions during the winter months. In an attempt to improve conditions, unleaded gas is now required as are catalytic converters on vehicles. Big polluting industry has been encouraged to move out of the metropolitan area. Low emission bus systems are being implemented. A suburban train system is being built. Emissions have dropped by half but still in May of 2019, the Government declared an environmental alert: ordering all vehicles off the road, postponing the football semifinals etc. 

Latin American cities are often old, some as old as 400 years. Cars have damaged the basic fabric of these old cities.  But again, Latin Americans are taking action. In Bogata a new rapid transit bus system has been implemented. In Buenas Aires, they are expanding the subway system. Several Brazilian cities are adding light rail.  Santiago is building a tram and expanding trains. And monorails are popping up throughout the region.

Water Scarcity

Although Latin America receives more rainfall than any other world region and has three of the six largest rivers by volume, parts of the region are experiencing water crises. In Central America, problems with freshwater availability and distribution are caused primarily by poverty and poor management of resources. The poorest areas are plagued by corruption, poorly trained government officials, and huge disparities in wealth. Water is available to the wealthy but not the poor.

In northern Mexico, water scarcity is caused not only by a dry climate but because of poor planning and lax environmental regulations. Cities have grown quickly due to the factories located on the border with the passage of NAFTA (now the USMCA). Factories have polluted water sources because of a lack of regulation. Nogales, Tijuana, Ciudad Juarez all have large numbers of migrants that have come to work in the maquiladoras. The cities haven't kept pace and have failed to build adequate water and sanitation facilities. Waterborne illness are common. Even in Mexico City, 90% of wastewater is untreated.

In some Latin American cities, water infrastructure is so bad that 50% of freshwater is lost to leaking pipes. A substantial part of the population does not have access to toilets and people may be forced to relieve themselves in the streets. 

Some sources of water in this region are threatened by climate change. Glaciers in the Andes feed rivers in Peru and Bolivia that are the water sources for millions of people.Since the mid-1970s, the area covered by glaciers in Peru’s Cordillera de Vilcanota range has nearly halved, with most losses occurring below 15,000 feet. Should the glaciers disappear, the rivers will run dry for part of the year impacting towns, farms and industry.

 

 

Perhaps the biggest threat to water in Latin America is privatization.  For example, Cochabamba (Bolivia's fourth largest city) sold its water source to Bechtel. The plan was that Bechtel would make investments in infrastructure in return for any profits made from  selling access to the water. Bechtel drastically raised rates to levels that people could not afford. Protests eventually caused Bechtel to abandon the water utility which remains in shambles today.

Learn More

Deforestation Amazon Links to an external site.

 

Receding Glaciers in Peru Links to an external site.

Mexico City: Air Pollution Solutions Links to an external site.