- This is the second time that the Global Nature Fund and the Living Lakes Network have named Lake Titicaca “Threatened Lake of the Year”
- South America’s largest freshwater reservoir suffers from a variety of negative environmental influences
- The Living Lakes partners ALT and CEDAS are committed to the lake locally and are calling for greater commitment to its ecological health
Radolfzell/Puno, 02.02.2023: The fact that visitors can be left breathless on its shores is not only due to the impressive dimensions of this body of water: Lake Titicaca, which borders Peru and Bolivia, is in fact an almost unimaginable 15 times the size of Lake Constance. As a geographical highlight of the South American Altiplano high plateau, it is also located at an altitude of over 3,800 meters. As a freshwater reservoir, the lake is of existential importance for the people of the Peruvian-Bolivian Andean highlands, as well as being a fishing ground rich in fish for the population living on its shores. The members of the indigenous Uru people weave their boats, houses and even the artificial islands on which they live in the lake from the special reeds that grow on the lake shore.
This natural treasure has been under stress for years, and the situation is getting worse: 2.5 cubic meters of wastewater produced by the Peruvian and Bolivian population flow into the lake every second, and many fish species have disappeared forever. The international environmental foundation Global Nature Fund (GNF) and the global lake network Living Lakes, which it coordinates, are therefore awarding Lake Titicaca the title of “Threatened Lake of the Year” on today’s World Wetlands Day – for the second time in eleven years.
A dubious title for the second time – because disaster is looming
Biologist Dr. Thomas Schaefer, Head of Nature Conservation and Living Lakes at GNF, explains the recent nomination:
“In the case of Lake Titicaca, the importance of the water for the people who live with and from it and its ecological exploitation are in a particularly blatant disproportion. Around two million Peruvians and Bolivians live in the catchment area of this giant lake and rely on it as a drinking water reservoir. However, much of the wastewater from the region flows untreated directly into the lake – e.g. from the large cities of Puno and Juliaca in Peru and from El Alto in Bolivia. In addition, there are pesticides from agriculture and wastewater contaminated with heavy metals from illegal mining in the region. The consequences are drastic and everyone can smell them: On some shores of the lake it stinks – and this is only the most obvious consequence of an impending ecological catastrophe to which a large part of the lake’s biodiversity has already fallen victim. We named Lake Titicaca Threatened Lake of the Year back in 2012.”
During the 16th Living Lakes Conference in December 2022, 60 international representatives from the international Living Lakes network were able to gain an up-to-date impression of the situation on the ground. Juan José Ocola Salazar, President of the Peruvian-Bolivian environmental protection organization ALT (Autonomous Binational Authority of Lake Titicaca), adds:
“The situation has gotten worse rather than better since 2012, which is due to increasing anthropogenic pressure on water quality. That is why this new title is a final wake-up call: if nothing happens now, the lake’s water could only be used as drinking water for the inhabitants of its shores under very difficult conditions in the long term. And we would then have to say goodbye forever to species such as the endangered Titicaca giant frog.”
Working together for a turnaround: What ALT, CEDAS and GNF want to achieve on the lake
As partners in the Living Lakes Network, the GNF, ALT and the Peruvian environmental protection organization CEDAS (Centro de Desarrollo Ambiental y Social) are working to reverse the downward spiral: environmental education campaigns are intended to raise awareness among the regional population in the catchment area of the importance of the lake and its worthiness of protection. As a supranational organization, ALT is committed to bringing together representatives of both riparian states to implement measures and programmes for the conservation, control and protection of the water and hydrobiological resources of Lake Titicaca.
“We must clearly see that the time for declarations of intent is over and that massive efforts are needed to protect the lake,” says Dr. Schaefer. “This is why, together with our partners, we are encouraging both local people to behave in a more environmentally friendly way and the authorities and decision-makers to create a regulatory framework that is actually monitored for compliance and sanctioned for violations. The fact that there has been unrest in Peru for some time does not make the situation any easier – but it is necessary to keep an eye on ecological issues even in politically difficult times.”
Contact us
Global Nature Fund
Dr. Thomas Schaefer
Head of Living Lakes & Nature Conservation
Fritz-Reichle-Ring 4
78315 Radolfzell
Phone: +49 7732 9995 85
E-mail: schaefer@globalnature.org
Website: www.globalnature.org