Andean Glaciers are Melting
August 30, 2006 by francesca | permalink
In case you were wondering, global warming is still happening and affecting more and more regions of the world, as well as their people. An article in The Guardian reports that the Andean glaciers are melting so fast that they are expected to disappear within the next 15 to 25 years "denying major cities water supplies and putting populations and food supplies at risk in Colombia, Peru, Chile, Venezuela, Ecuador, Argentina and Bolivia." Because the glaciers represent sources of water for South American populations, their impending disappearance is of deep concern to officials in the region as it would present a severe loss to those dependent on them.
Not only that but the melting glaciers affects the habits of local farmers in ways that have an even more negative and cumulative impact on the environment."The [drastic melt] forces people to farm at higher altitudes to grow their crops, adding to deforestation, which in turn undermines water sources and leads to soil erosion and putting the survival of Andean cultures at risk," says the report by the Working Group on Climate Change and Development.
And in what is becoming an increasing trend the groups associated with the Working Group on Climate Change and Development in South America are calling on rich countries to drastically reduce their carbon emissions and to take responsibility for the negative impact they have had on less developed regions of the world. Juan Maldonado, the former environmental minister of Columbia and president of the UN convention on biological diversity has gone as far as to say that "The only option we have, apart from demanding that developed countries take responsibility for the damages that climate change is causing, is to try to neutralise the adverse impacts that are [already] upon us. It is time to rethink the model of international aid".
One wonders whether the tension between the developed and developing world will escalate as the environmental and social impacts of climate change increasingly make themselves felt. With each new environmental disaster in a developing region the impact does serious damage to poor communities who are already struggling to survive. It would not surprise me to hear more and more voices speaking on behalf of these impoverished communities and demanding more accountability from the international community. The question is how will the international community respond? I also wonder, while I agree with the criticism being lobbied, whether the "us against them" dynamic being established between the developing and developed regions is the best way to approach and negotiate the challenges of climate change.
Stay tuned.
