'Everything is dry'. Drought threatens indigenous families living at Bolivia's Lake Titicaca

Record ID: 1736616

  • Title: 'Everything is dry'. Drought threatens indigenous families living at Bolivia's Lake Titicaca
  • Date: 4th August 2023
  • Summary: HUARINA, LA PAZ, BOLIVIA, (AUGUST 03, 2023) (REUTERS) (MUTE) VARIOUS DRONE SHOTS OF LAKE TITICACA WITH LOW LEVELS OF WATER CRACKED DRY EARTH HUARINA RESIDENT, ISABEL APAZA HUANCA, LOOKING A THE SUN APAZA HUANCA KICKING DRY DIRT THAT USED TO BE FILLED WITH WATER (MUTE) DRONE SHOT OF APAZA HUANCA LEAVING A TRAIL AS SHE WALKS APAZA HUANCA WALKING (MUTE) DRONE SHOT OF APAZA HUANCA WALKING / TITICACA LAKE (SOUNDBITE) (Aymara) HUARINA RESIDENT, ISABEL APAZA HUANCA, SAYING: “Look at this part that is completely dry. It has no water, look. Look, it is dry all the way to that place. We don’t know what we will do, we don’t have food for our cattle, for our cows and lambs because everything is dry. There is no water from that part to here, it is dry.” CHUA, LA PAZ, BOLIVIA, (AUGUST 03, 2023) (REUTERS) (MUTE) DRONE SHOT OF LAKE TITICACA AND ITS AREAS BOAT ON DRY LAKE TITICACA (MUTE) DRONE FOOTAGE OF DRY SHORE OF LAKE TITICACA DUCKLING SWIMMING VARIOUS OF CHUA RESIDENTS RECOLLECTING PLANTS TO FEED CATTLE VARIOUS OF CATTLE GRAZING VARIOUS OF CHUA RESIDENT WORKING ON HER DRY BEAN CROPS LA PAZ, BOLIVIA, (AUGUST 03, 2023) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) ENGINEER AT BOLIVIAN NATIONAL METEOROLOGY AND HYDROLOGY SERVICE, LUCIA WALPER, SAYING: “Each phenomenon presents itself with a distortion, they do not have the parameter they usually display. At a national level, the last three years in the highlands, we have not had continuous floods in those three consecutive years. Therefore, the ground has not been nourished by water.” HUARINA, LA PAZ, BOLIVIA, (AUGUST 03, 2023) (REUTERS) (MUTE) DRONE SHOT OF LAKE TITICACA APAZA HUANCA AND HER HUSBAND, GABRIEL FLORES FLORES, BOARDING THEIR BOAT DUCKS ON WATER VARIOUS OF COUPLE GOING DOWN A STREAM IN THEIR BOAT (SOUNDBITE) (Aymara) VICE PRESIDENT OF THE ARASAYA NEIGHBOR COUNCIL, GABRIEL FLORES FLORES, SAYING: “Why do we have global warming? Because of the foreign industries: Germany, United States and China. These big countries are the ones who are polluting and we are being affected. As you can see, the water is drying. It’s as if the Earth was burning.” GEESE FLYING (MUTE) DRONE FOOTAGE OF LAKE TITICACA / APAZA HUANCA AND FLORES FLORES ON THEIR BOAT (SOUNDBITE) (Aymara) VICE PRESIDENT OF THE ARASAYA NEIGHBORHOOD COUNCIL, GABRIEL FLORES FLORES, SAYING: “(Water) has diminished for 1.20 metres (3.93 feet) from here to where you can see Lake Titicaca. And water has kept on drying, we are even seeing a blue cloudless sky and there’s a lot of heat. That is why water is drying.” CHUA, LA PAZ, BOLIVIA, (AUGUST 03, 2023) (REUTERS) (MUTE) DRY SHORE / LAKE TITICACA
  • Embargoed: 18th August 2023 03:40
  • Keywords: Aymara Bolivia La Paz Titicaca drought lake rain
  • Location: VARIOUS LOCATIONS, LA PAZ, BOLIVIA
  • City: VARIOUS LOCATIONS, LA PAZ, BOLIVIA
  • Country: Bolivia
  • Topics: Droughts,Disaster/Accidents,South America / Central America,Editors' Choice
  • Reuters ID: LVA001219304082023RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text:The livelihoods of indigenous families living near Bolivia's Lake Titicaca are under threat, as drought threatens locals who make a living largely from subsistence farming.
    The daily activities of the residents of villages such as Huarina and Chua have been affected by the lack of water. Due to an encroaching drought, boats are now parked on the dry shores of the lake far from traditional docks, there is little food for livestock and growing crops is difficult.
    The lack of water affecting communities is a consequence of the actions of foreign companies in the area, said the Vice President of the Arasaya Neighborhood Council, Gabriel Flores Flores.
    According to engineer at Bolivian National Meteorology and Hydrology Service, Lucia Walper, usual floods in the lake have been absent for the last three years, leading to a lack of water on the land.
    (Production: Santiago Limachi, Sergio Limachi, Monica Machicao, Nina Lopez)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2023. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
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