Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06LAPAZ3337
2006-12-08 20:23:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy La Paz
Cable title:
COMMUNITIES DEMAND CLEAN-UP OF LAKE TITICACA
how-toVZCZCXYZ0000 RR RUEHWEB DE RUEHLP #3337/01 3422023 ZNR UUUUU ZZH R 082023Z DEC 06 FM AMEMBASSY LA PAZ TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1607 INFO RUEHAC/AMEMBASSY ASUNCION 6373 RUEHBO/AMEMBASSY BOGOTA 3697 RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA 7567 RUEHBU/AMEMBASSY BUENOS AIRES 4817 RUEHCV/AMEMBASSY CARACAS 2069 RUEHPE/AMEMBASSY LIMA 2142 RUEHME/AMEMBASSY MEXICO 1963 RUEHMN/AMEMBASSY MONTEVIDEO 4267 RUEHQT/AMEMBASSY QUITO 4706 RUEHSG/AMEMBASSY SANTIAGO 9291 RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHINGTON DC RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHINGTON DC
UNCLAS LA PAZ 003337
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
STATE FOR WHA/AND LPETRONI
BRASILIA FOR JSTORY AND LSTONER
USAID/LAC FOR AFRANCO, MSILVERMAN, RLOUDIS, AND JBISSON
USAID/EGAT FOR CJACKSON, ANE FOR JWILSON
COMMERCE FOR JANGLIN
TREASURY FOR SGOOCH
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ECON PREL PGOV BL
SUBJECT: COMMUNITIES DEMAND CLEAN-UP OF LAKE TITICACA
-------
SUMMARY
-------
UNCLAS LA PAZ 003337
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
STATE FOR WHA/AND LPETRONI
BRASILIA FOR JSTORY AND LSTONER
USAID/LAC FOR AFRANCO, MSILVERMAN, RLOUDIS, AND JBISSON
USAID/EGAT FOR CJACKSON, ANE FOR JWILSON
COMMERCE FOR JANGLIN
TREASURY FOR SGOOCH
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ECON PREL PGOV BL
SUBJECT: COMMUNITIES DEMAND CLEAN-UP OF LAKE TITICACA
--------------
SUMMARY
--------------
1. (U) Since May 2005, communities on Lake Titicaca have
demanded that the GOB reduce the lake's increasing
contamination. Human activity has negatively affected plant
and animal species and threatened the lake's fragile
ecosystem. GOB officials say the Morales administration is
committed to reducing pollution, but the government has few
plans and lacks the technical and financial resources needed
to mount a concerted clean-up. End summary.
--------------
COMMUNITIES DEMAND ACTION
--------------
2. (U) Since May 2005, when eleven local leaders organized
public protests, communities on Lake Titicaca have demanded
that the GOB reduce the lake's increasing contamination.
Community leaders have repeatedly denounced the lake's
deteriorating water quality and asked the government to
commit money and resources to comprehensive pollution control
efforts, complaining of widespread damage to fisheries,
croplands, and livestock; many fear that uncontrolled
contamination will devastate incomes and traditional ways of
life, particularly in a region where agriculture and cattle
ranching are the principal economic activities.
--------------
HUMAN IMPACTS ON WATER RESOURCES
--------------
3. (U) According to a case study published in the 2003 UN
World Water Development Report, human activity has negatively
affected plant and animal species and threatened Lake
Titicaca's fragile ecosystem. Untreated or partially treated
human and industrial waste from El Alto, a city of
approximately 800,000 residents on the plains above La Paz,
contaminates rivers that drain into the lake, creating
special problems for the plants and animals of Cohana Bay.
The nutrient-rich wastewater promotes eutrophication, or the
excessive growth of aquatic plants, which deprives fish and
other marine life of oxygen. This phenomenon, together with
declining quantities of totora reeds, which help filter water
impurities and are used to build boats and furnish cattle
fodder, has upset the balance of plant and animal life in the
bay. Untreated waste from smaller towns and villages
exacerbates the problem, as do runoff and heavy metal
contamination from cattle ranching and nearby ore processing
facilities and mines.
4. (U) Other human activities, such as the introduction of
non-native fish species, reliance on pollution-prone trout
farming, severe overfishing, poorly planned dam construction,
and uncontrolled water use, also threaten Lake Titicaca's
ecosystem. Local residents introduced high-value non-native
fish species such as trout and mackerel into the lake in the
early 1930s; since then, populations of native species such
as karachi and boga have declined dramatically, and many are
now considered vulnerable or endangered. Trout farms
constructed on the lake's southern shore have released tons
of waste into the water, while increases in the number of
people making a living from fishing have raised pressure on
fish populations. Dams built to prevent or minimize flooding
have altered the lake's water levels and flow patterns and
submerged once productive croplands, and uncontrolled water
use has threatened to drain the shallows in totora reed
areas. Together with untreated sewage and livestock and
mining runoff, these present additional problems for
scientists and local communities hoping to protect the lake
and its resources.
--------------
COMMENT
--------------
5. (SBU) GOB officials say the Morales administration is
committed to reducing Lake Titicaca's pollution, but the
government has few plans and lacks the technical and
financial resources needed to mount a concerted clean-up.
Bolivia's joint ownership of the lake with Peru complicates
matters, as officials disagree over what should be done and
who should pay. In the absence of stronger coordination and
more funding, local communities' persistent demands for
action will likely remain unanswered, at least for now.
URS
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
STATE FOR WHA/AND LPETRONI
BRASILIA FOR JSTORY AND LSTONER
USAID/LAC FOR AFRANCO, MSILVERMAN, RLOUDIS, AND JBISSON
USAID/EGAT FOR CJACKSON, ANE FOR JWILSON
COMMERCE FOR JANGLIN
TREASURY FOR SGOOCH
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ECON PREL PGOV BL
SUBJECT: COMMUNITIES DEMAND CLEAN-UP OF LAKE TITICACA
--------------
SUMMARY
--------------
1. (U) Since May 2005, communities on Lake Titicaca have
demanded that the GOB reduce the lake's increasing
contamination. Human activity has negatively affected plant
and animal species and threatened the lake's fragile
ecosystem. GOB officials say the Morales administration is
committed to reducing pollution, but the government has few
plans and lacks the technical and financial resources needed
to mount a concerted clean-up. End summary.
--------------
COMMUNITIES DEMAND ACTION
--------------
2. (U) Since May 2005, when eleven local leaders organized
public protests, communities on Lake Titicaca have demanded
that the GOB reduce the lake's increasing contamination.
Community leaders have repeatedly denounced the lake's
deteriorating water quality and asked the government to
commit money and resources to comprehensive pollution control
efforts, complaining of widespread damage to fisheries,
croplands, and livestock; many fear that uncontrolled
contamination will devastate incomes and traditional ways of
life, particularly in a region where agriculture and cattle
ranching are the principal economic activities.
--------------
HUMAN IMPACTS ON WATER RESOURCES
--------------
3. (U) According to a case study published in the 2003 UN
World Water Development Report, human activity has negatively
affected plant and animal species and threatened Lake
Titicaca's fragile ecosystem. Untreated or partially treated
human and industrial waste from El Alto, a city of
approximately 800,000 residents on the plains above La Paz,
contaminates rivers that drain into the lake, creating
special problems for the plants and animals of Cohana Bay.
The nutrient-rich wastewater promotes eutrophication, or the
excessive growth of aquatic plants, which deprives fish and
other marine life of oxygen. This phenomenon, together with
declining quantities of totora reeds, which help filter water
impurities and are used to build boats and furnish cattle
fodder, has upset the balance of plant and animal life in the
bay. Untreated waste from smaller towns and villages
exacerbates the problem, as do runoff and heavy metal
contamination from cattle ranching and nearby ore processing
facilities and mines.
4. (U) Other human activities, such as the introduction of
non-native fish species, reliance on pollution-prone trout
farming, severe overfishing, poorly planned dam construction,
and uncontrolled water use, also threaten Lake Titicaca's
ecosystem. Local residents introduced high-value non-native
fish species such as trout and mackerel into the lake in the
early 1930s; since then, populations of native species such
as karachi and boga have declined dramatically, and many are
now considered vulnerable or endangered. Trout farms
constructed on the lake's southern shore have released tons
of waste into the water, while increases in the number of
people making a living from fishing have raised pressure on
fish populations. Dams built to prevent or minimize flooding
have altered the lake's water levels and flow patterns and
submerged once productive croplands, and uncontrolled water
use has threatened to drain the shallows in totora reed
areas. Together with untreated sewage and livestock and
mining runoff, these present additional problems for
scientists and local communities hoping to protect the lake
and its resources.
--------------
COMMENT
--------------
5. (SBU) GOB officials say the Morales administration is
committed to reducing Lake Titicaca's pollution, but the
government has few plans and lacks the technical and
financial resources needed to mount a concerted clean-up.
Bolivia's joint ownership of the lake with Peru complicates
matters, as officials disagree over what should be done and
who should pay. In the absence of stronger coordination and
more funding, local communities' persistent demands for
action will likely remain unanswered, at least for now.
URS