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| Audience in Machala |
Through
my internship at Fundación FIDAL (http://www.fidal-amlat.org/), I have learned much
about how climate change (or cambio
climático in Spanish), is affecting the people of Ecuador. At FIDAL, individuals are working to
combat the impacts of climate change by hosting awareness workshops and
facilitating regional cooperation through the development of risk management
plans for border communities in Columbia, Perú, and Ecuador.
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| Banana Shipping Company - DERBY |
I
had the opportunity to attend a climate change workshop in the coastal city of Machala (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Machala). Much of Machala’s economy, which is
based on the exportation of bananas, is deeply impacted by the devastating
effects of El Niño, one of the many natural phenomena that are affected in
strength and frequency by climate change.
In fact, an article about the increased likelihood of the arrival of El
Niño in the Gulf of Guayaquil recently appeared in an issue of El Comercio, one
of the primary national newspapers of Ecuador: The Increased Likelihood of the Arrival of El Niño.
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The EMERALD ships of SEATRADE
carry bananas as well. |
While
in Machala, we visited Puerto Bolívar and got a chance to see the ships
responsible for carrying bananas to North America and other locations. We also visited a nearby beach where I
was struck by the amount of trash along the shoreline. After inquiring about the trash, I
learned that the area near the beach is frequently flooded and when the water
recedes, it carries away trash and other items with it. This trash then ends up on the beaches
and tangled in nearby vegetation.
As sea levels rise thanks to the rise in global temperatures, the issues
those in the city of Machala are trying to combat will likely affect other coastal
cities around the globe as well.
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| Trash along the shoreline in Machala |
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| Trash caught in the vegetation |
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| Wildlife in Machala also impacted by climate change |
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