The Quelccaya ice cap is one of the largest tropical glaciers in the world: it is larger than 9,000 soccer fields. Over the last 30 years, however, its glacier mass has decreased by up to 31%, threatening the continued existence of vital processes in the communities surrounding the ice cap. "So what are we going to do when the peak is gone? We will run out of water".
María Magdalena Arréllaga
A wetland drying up
"A wetland without water is a wetland without life". The world's largest tropical wetland is in danger of disappearance: from January to December 2020, nearly 4 million hectares of the wetland were devastated by wildfires exacerbated by the longest drought in five decades, resulting in an unprecedented ecological disaster in Latin America.
Víctor Galeano
Sacrifice zone
Severe pollution in the Quintero-Puchuncaví bay, on the coasts of Central Chile, has caused a series of massive intoxications in the community. In addition to toxic clouds, the bay has suffered massive oil spills and coal strandings in the sea and sand. Respiratory and skin diseases affected an undetermined number of residents.
Esteban Vanegas
AN AGONIZING BAY
One of Cartagena's main bodies of water suffers several consequences from climate change and human activities that harm the marine ecosystem, the city itself, and the communities inhabiting the affected areas. Such an issue is in stark contrast with the reputation and beauty of Colombia's Walled City.