CHILE: Chile's Lake Chungara under threat as global warming chokes one of the world's highest lakes.

Lake Chungara seems miles from anywhere. It is one of the highest lakes in the world at 3,650 metres above sea level, situated in the far north of Chile and dramatically back dropped by the enormous dormant Parinacota Volcano. But despite its remote location, Chungara has not been saved from the effects of the modern world. Scientists say global warming is drying the lake out and in the future it could become nothing more than a dead salt plain, completely destroying the habitat that is currently home to over 130 bird species, as well as llamas, alpacas, pumas and foxes. "The information obtained between 2001 and 2003 has permitted us to arrive at the conclusion that the lake is diminishing. The volume of the water in the lake is significant and as the temperature of the water increases the volume (of water) decreases. There is a major evaporation of the water and also salinity is one of the serious problems with these steppe systems," said the director of the ecology department at the University of Chile, Irma Vila. The situation at Lake Chungara is just one of the examples of effects of climate change, a world-wide problem which a UK-commissioned report released last week said could cause a world-wide economic slump. The report, by the former World Bank chief economist Nicholas Stern, said the world must tackle the threat of global warming in order to avoid an economic upheaval on the scale of the 1930s Depression, and Latin America is one of the areas most at risk. Stern reports that Latin America is particularly susceptible to climate variation, and with the economy of the region dependent of natural resources, millions of people could be thrown into poverty at the same time as unique areas like Lake Chungara would simply get laid to waste. "All of the flora and fauna could be affected in the area, especially because of the salinity. Fauna can't tolerate high levels of salinity, they require fresh water," Vila said. On current trends, average global temperatures will rise by 2-3 degrees centigrade with in the next fifty years or so. This would not only dry up Lake Chungara, but the Stern report says that the production of maize for example through the Andean countries would drop by approximately 15 percent. The document makes clear that an international approach based on multilateral frameworks and co-ordinated action are essential. But the weight of the problem lies on the shoulders of rich nations, which will need to cut greenhouse gas emissions to between 60-80 percent from 1990 levels by 2050 in order to make any difference. In the meantime, park rangers of the Lauca National Park which encompasses Lake Chungara are powerless to do little more than look on as the water dries up. "With respect to the last few years, it has been obvious that the quantity of water has been dropping. The periods of rain are shorter, they start in December and finish in March, and this is probably one of the reasons that is affecting the drop in the lake," Lauca National Park Ranger Arturo Gomez said. The report offers a range of solutions in order to combat climate change, including an increase in world-wide incentives to encourage the use of new low-carbon technologies, the establishment of a global carbon market and the heightened protection of remaining areas of natural forest.

ITN Source | November 4, 2006

Tags:. .encourage. .latin. .dramatically. .degrees. .average