As Andean Glaciers Shrink, Water Worries Grow
(Page 2 of 2)
"They cannot resist," said Mr. Gallaire, the hydrologist, speaking in his office in La Paz. "These glaciers are much more fragile than in the north. It is the great problem of the tropical glaciers."
Government officials and scientists believe that if the glaciers keep melting at this rapid pace, a serious water shortage could loom for Bolivia, which lacks the resources or know-how to adapt to the significant climate changes it has done little to generate. Most scientists blame industrialized nations, like the United States, the world's largest producer of heat-trapping gases.
Government officials said the country had not planned for the effects of continued global warming. No in-depth studies have been conducted, and no plans for building or improving reservoirs and other infrastructure are even on the drawing board.
"The problem is we are using reserves that are being reduced," Mr. Gallaire said. "So we have to ask, what will happen in 50 years? Fifty years, you know, is tomorrow."
The most pressing concern, government officials said, is the possible shortage of water for the 1.5 million people of La Paz and the adjacent city of El Alto. Over the next decade, water use in the region is expected to increase by 20 percent.
Scientists say that without the glaciers the region's natural water cycle will be disrupted. Glaciers release water in dry seasons and collect it in rainy ones.
"It's a natural dam," said Lonnie Thompson, a research scientist at the Byrd Center who has studied Andean glaciers closely. "Some people refer to these glaciers as the world's water towers, and once they're dry, you lose that water."
For now, at Aguas de Illimani, the French company that runs La Paz's water supply, the situation is not seen as critical. The president, Roberto Bianchi, asserted that the company depended mostly on rainwater for its supplies.
But scientists said that glacial melt contributed, too, and Mr. Bianchi acknowledged that "if, as a consequence of a possible disappearance of glaciers, the routine of precipitation is altered, we are exposed."
Up in the mountains, what is happening is no secret to farmers, shepherds and the hardy mountain guides of the Bolivian Andean Club. They have seen the spectacular ice caves of Charquini mountain, conical ice sculptures formed by fierce winds, disappear. They have also seen the glaciers give up the ghosts of the past, like the wrecks of airplanes that had disappeared into glaciers decades ago.
In a country where half the population is indigenous and reveres the mountains as Achachilas, or givers of life, the changes are seen with deep melancholy.
"People have to ask for life from the mountain," explained José Huanca, 32, who lives next to the Tuni reservoir at the base of the Condoriri glacier. "They are the owners of the land, of the animals. But I think the Achachilas are leaving." |
