Central America: water conservation alert

The non-governmental Central American Water Tribunal, based in San Jose, Costa Rica, issued a dramatic warning about future water shortages in the region. The amount of available water per capita has dropped by 60% since 1950, said officials, and is expected to be only 21% of the 1950 figure by 2050. People have caused the problem. In El Salvador, for example, most of the rivers now dry up in the summer because the excessive cutting of trees has altered the hydrological cycle, reported coordinator Mauricio Cermeno of the Salvadorean Ecological Union. In Guatemala, 90% of the surface waters are choked with rubbish or polluted by sewage, admitted the Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources, and 75% of El Peten – the second biggest wetland in Latin America – is in danger of turning into desert because of drought, deforestation, population growth, and land clearance for farming.
Summary by Louise Shaler

Read the original article: Jose Melendez, El Universal Online (in Spanish), 28 Sep 2009

Venezuela: water resources could diminish by 10-30% in next 20 years, says researcher

Venezuelan sociologist Vanessa Cartaya is predicting a 10-30% reduction in the country’s water resources over the next 20 years due to deforestation and erosion, government news agency ABN reported.

Venezuela’s potable water is extracted from 18 of the country’s 43 national parks. These parks cover the needs of 83% of the country’s urban population, including Caracas, Maracaibo and Valencia, said Cartaya.

Deforestation and erosion not only affect potable water supply, but the majority of the country’s agricultural land is irrigated with resources from these national parks.

The study aims to promote policy improvements and boost public funding to preserve these areas.

Source: BNamericas.com [subscription site], 23 Jul 2009