Peru: wells sucked dry by British love of asparagus

A study, by the development charity Progressio, has found that industrial production of asparagus in Peru’s Ica valley is depleting the area’s water resources so fast that smaller farmers and local families are finding wells running dry. Water to the main city in the valley is also under threat, it says. It warns that the export of the luxury vegetable, much of it to British supermarkets, is unsustainable in its current form.

The Ica Valley is a desert area in the Andes and one of the driest places on earth. The asparagus beds developed in the last decade require constant irrigation, with the result that the local water table has plummeted since 2002 when extraction overtook replenishment. In some places it has fallen by eight metres each year, one of the fastest rates of aquifer depletion in the world.

Peru earns more than US$ 450 million a year from the trade that has created around 10,000 new jobs in a very poor area. Around 95% of Peru’s asparagus production comes from the Ica valley. The expansion of the asparagus production was made possible thanks to multimillion dollar investments by the World Bank from the late 1990s on. Nevertheless the trade has provoked conflict. When a World Bank executive went to investigate complaints about the water shortages in April 2010 he was shot at.

Progressio is not calling for an end to the asparagus export business, but is asking supermarkets and investors to take responsibility for finding a more balanced solution.

Read the full report by Progressio:
Hepworth, N.D. … [et al/] (2010). Drop by drop : understanding the impacts of the UK’s water footprint through a case study of Peruvian asparagus. London, UK, Progressio ; Lima, Peru, Centro Peruano de Estudios Sociales (CEPES) ; London, UK, Water Witness. ISBN 978-1-85287-335-6. Download [PDF file]

Read also the press release by Progressio, 15 Sep 2010

Source: Felicity Lawrence, Guardian, 15 Sep 2010

Peru: new regulations unlikely to solve water conflicts, says expert

Peru’s new law regulating hydrological resources is unlikely to solve social conflicts caused by disputes over water, Laureano del Castillo, lawyer and hydrological expert with the national center for social studies (Cepes), told BNamericas.

Read full article on: BNamericas.com [subscription site], 31 Mar 2010

Uruguay, Argentina: data misintrepreted in transboundary water pollution dispute

A summary of Uruguay’s and Argentina’s court sessions at the Hague’s international court of justice regarding a dispute over the environmental effects of Uruguay’s Botnia pulp mill has revealed Argentina’s mismanagement of data, Uruguayan paper El Observador reported.

A document, drawn up by Uruguay’s national environmental authority Dinama, states that Argentina used data provided by Uruguay’s state-owned water utility OSE in an effort to prove that the plant has indeed contaminated the waters of the Uruguay river, shared by the two countries.

According to Dinama, Argentina used OSE’s data to state that Botnia had damaged the quality of the river’s waters, surpassing the limits of dissolved oxygen established by the Uruguay river management committee (Caru).

The Argentine officials, however, used OSE’s oxidability data which cannot be used in the same way. High levels of dissolved oxygen indicate good water quality, while low levels of oxidability indicate the same thing.

Argentine officials submitted the data to prove that the river’s waters had been contaminated, stating that the levels of dissolved oxygen had dropped using OSE’s oxidability data. In other words, they technically proved that the river’s water quality is good.

The Hague is expected to deliver its verdict in 2010.

Botnia, located in Rio Negro department’s Fray Bentos town, has been the subject of a long-standing dispute between Uruguay and Argentine authorities. Argentina alleges the pulp industry processing system is contaminating, regardless of what environmental reports indicate.

Argentina also claims the installation of the plant is at odds with a bilateral agreement dating back to the 1970s regarding joint management and initiatives on the Uruguay river, and that the Botnia project was carried out without first consulting with Buenos Aires.

Numerous studies, many of which have been carried out by international organizations, show that the river’s waters have not been altered by activities at the pulp mill.

Related web site: International Court of Justice – Pulp Mills on the River Uruguay (Argentina v. Uruguay)

Source: BNamericas.com [subscription site], 30 Oct 2009

Ecuador: one dead and dozens injured in water protests

One protester has been killed and many more are injured following clashes between indigenous tribal people and Ecuadorian police over proposed water and land rights laws.

The demonstrations near to Macas in Ecuador saw the indigenous protesters blockade a bridge linking two key provinces.

Actions around the country began on 27 September 2009 over indigenous fears the government’s new water laws would privatise water sources, give priority access to water to [the mining] industry and slash regulations for water contamination.

According to the protesters local police, backed by a helicopter, opened fire on demonstrators armed only with ‘ceremonial’ spears.

The attack has left at least one confirmed dead, Bosco Wisum, a teacher and member of the Shuar nation, and some 49 civilians and police injured.

President of the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of the Ecuadorian Amazon [CONFENIAE], Tito Puenchir, called the attack the start of a ‘civil war’ and called on the United Nations to intervene.

President Rafael Correa appealed for calm on national radio calling for ‘dialogue’ with the protesters. ["The problem is not the water law, or the mining, or the autonomy of the region," he said. "I fear that, deeper, there are motives of destabilization", Correa said]

On Monday 5 October, Correa and indigenous leaders met and were able to hammer out an agreement to address their concerns. The meeting produced a six-point agreement, which the President is expected to sign on 13 Ocrober 2009.

Firstly, the parties have agreed to institutionalise a permanent dialogue between the government and the native communities.

There will also be a commission set up to work on the Water bill and try to reach an intermediate agreement between the government’s plans and the indigenous groups.

A thorough analysis of possible modifications to the mining law, will be conducted and, finally, a commission, comprising two delegates each from the government the indigenous groups, will investigate the death last week of protester Bosco Wisum.

Indigenous groups had a leading role in overthrowing two previous Ecuadorian presidents.

A BBC article comments that, even though they are not as powerful as they used to be, native communities have grown stronger from this conflict.

Source: Luke Walsh, ediie, 02 Oct 2009 ; Francisca Pouiller, Mining Weekly, 08 Oct 2009

Mexico, Mexico City: Human rights commission warns water scarcity could cause “spiral of violence”

Mexico’s federal district (DF) human rights commission CDHDF has warned that the capital’s growing water shortage could cause a “spiral of violence”.

CDHDF president Emilio Álvarez Icaza Longoria said that low-income families are paying more for water of lower quality and only receive it at certain hours of the day, a situation that is causing social unrest. “We have already seen protests in some areas, with blocked avenues and demonstrations specifically about the lack of water in the places that are most affected,” he said.

Local authorities recently said that the capital’s water supply is only guaranteed for the next six months due to an ongoing drought, considered the worst in the last 40 years.

According to mayor Marcelo Ebrard, residents in all areas will see their water supply cut for a few days a week in the first half of 2010. However, the mayor denied suggestions that the water shortage would cause an outbreak of violence.

Ebrard asked residents to save water, adding that his administration has redoubled efforts to carry out maintenance on main pipelines to prevent leaks and to build wastewater treatment plants.

Starting 1 September 2009, Mexico City water utility SACM will start imposing fines ranging from 1,500-16,000 pesos (US$114-1,215) on individuals and businesses that are caught wasting water. People will no longer be allowed to wash their vehicles with domestic water hoses and water their lawns during the day.

In early August 2009, the head of Mexico’s water authority Conagua José Luis Luege announced an imminent and indefinite increase in water rationing in the Mexico valley and federal district (DF). Luege, together with Mexico state (Edomex) and DF authorities, are looking at ways to reduce water supply by 20-25% in 17 municipalities and 16 boroughs at least until 2011.

The plan involves reducing supply by 10% from Sunday through Thursday. On Fridays and Saturdays supply is reduced by 25% and 50%, respectively. However, it is necessary to increase this to an average of 20-25%, according to Luege. Average reduction in water supply is at 17.8% in the Mexico valley and DF areas but this is not sufficient.

The dams that feed the Cutzamala system are at historically low levels. “We are 20% below the average levels of the last 25 years. This means a deficit of 150Mm3 of water,” Villalón said.

Source: BNamericas.com [subscription site], 01 Sep 2009 ; 26 Aug 2009 ; 06 Aug 2009

Bolivia, Chile: Chile to pay for 100% of Silala waters in 4 years, claims foreign minister

Chile will have to begin paying for 100% of the Silala water it uses in four years, Bolivia’s state news agency ABI reported the country’s foreign minister David Choquehuanca as saying.

“According to the preliminary agreement, we have to draw up a long-term agreement with Chile in four years. In the meantime, Chile will have to pay for 50% of the Silala waters it uses. In four years, it will have to pay for 100%,” Choquehuanca said.

The preliminary agreement on rights to the Silala was to be signed around this time, but Bolivian authorities decided to push back the date until 2010 after the opposition and others questioned the agreement.

Both countries have argued for decades over Chile’s right to use Silala waters, which flow from Bolivia into Chile. Chilean authorities have claimed Silala is an international river due to the route it follows and so is regulated by international law. Bolivia, on the other hand, has argued the waters originate from 94 springs on its territory, and so are not governed by international law.

The value of the waters has increased tremendously over the last few years, as they have become vital for mining companies operating in northern Chile, while Bolivian officials argue this leaves Potosí department without sufficient water.

The preliminary document establishes that Chile will pay for 50% of the Silala waters it uses, while further and more detailed studies are carried out to determine whether the Silala is a river or a spring. These studies will indicate if Chile needs to pay for an additional percentage of the waters, which could reach another 50%.

Source: BNamericas.com [subscription site], 18 Aug 2009

Latin America: transboundary water issues – conflict and collaboration

Chilean and Peruvian foreign relations authorities will discuss [in March 2009] a project in Peru’s Tacna province and its effect on water resources in northern Chile. [...] Peruvian mining firm Minsur is currently working on the Peruvian side of the Azufre river basin, and the Azufre river becomes a tributary of the Lluta river on the Chilean side of the border.

The mining company plans to extract 30l/s of water as part of its gold and silver mining operations. The project could have a permanent effect on the river basin, used to irrigate some 2,700ha in region XV, Chilean public works ministry’s (MOP) general water authority DGA officials claim.

[...] Chilean civilian groups have contacted local authorities, claiming the use of aquifers in Peru has affected water availability in the region. Peru’s industrial and water activities have also been questioned by Bolivian authorities, as other initiatives have affected the amount and quality of water resources in that country.

Source: Eva Medalla,  BNamericas [subscription site], 03 Mar 2009

Mexico and Guatemala are considering establishing a bilateral treaty to address issues related to shared international water resources for human consumption and domestic use, Mexican paper El Informador reported.
Mexican foreign affairs ministry SRE said both parties agreed on supplying water to their respective border communities to guarantee each country’s self-sufficiency . [...] Mexico [also] announced it [expects to finish] building [drinking water supply] systems [for] local communities that are currently served by waters originating in Guatemalan territory [...] by May [2009].

Source: BNamericas [subscription site], 05 Mar 2009