TheJakartaPost

Please Update your browser

Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.

Jakarta Post

The long walk for water in the parched Colombian Amazon

David Salazar (AFP)
Columbia
Thu, October 10, 2024 Published on Oct. 9, 2024 Published on 2024-10-09T22:02:11+07:00

Change text size

Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone

Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!
The long walk for water in the parched Colombian Amazon Aerial view of Yagua Indigenous people walking on the banks of the Amazon river at Isla de los Micos, Amazonas department, Colombia, on October 4, 2024. Colombia's National Unit for Disaster Risk Management (UNGRD) recently reported that the flow of the Amazon River has been reduced by up to 90 percent due to the alarming lack of rainfall affecting this triple border with Brazil and Peru, which is only accessible by water. (AFP/Luis Acosta)

B

earing six-liter bottles of water on their shoulders, members of Colombia's Indigenous Yagua community tramp along the dried-up riverbed of a branch of the mighty Amazon.

In the Three Frontiers region, where Colombia borders Brazil and Peru, the flow in some spots of the world's biggest river by volume has shrunk by 90 percent, leaving a desert of brown sand etched with ripples.

Near the Colombian border town of Leticia, the 600 inhabitants of a Yagua village have found themselves staring out over a kilometer-wide pop-up beach.

Before the smaller of two branches of the Amazon that flow past Leticia started to dry up three months ago, it took the villagers only around 15 minutes to reach the shores of the river.

Now they have to walk for two hours under the baking sun to reach the docking point for boats that bring food, fuel and drinking water on the only route in and out of the jungle.

"This is a really difficult time," Victor Facelino, a 52-year-old Yagua man told AFP as he lugged home a water canister donated by the state to help quench the thirst of people living in the world's biggest rainforest.

"Sometimes we get bogged down in the sand," he said, panting.

Yagua Indigenous people carry water and other goods due to the low level of the Amazon river at Isla de los Micos, Amazonas department, Colombia, on October 4, 2024.
Yagua Indigenous people carry water and other goods due to the low level of the Amazon river at Isla de los Micos, Amazonas department, Colombia, on October 4, 2024. (AFP/Luis Acosta)

Colombia's National Unit for Disaster Risk Management (UNGRD) blames the Amazon's worst drought in nearly 20 years for the dramatic shrinkage of the river in the Three Frontiers region.

"For many of these communities, the only means of transport is the river, and with the drying up of the tributaries, they are completely cut off," UNGRD director Carlos Carrillo said.

'Like before'

The governor of the Colombian department of Amazonas, a 109,000-square-kilometer chunk of forest, said the drought was the "worst climate crisis" ever seen in the area.

It coincides with the worst wildfire season in the Amazon in nearly 20 years, according to Europe's Copernicus climate observatory.

On the Peruvian side of the border, several towns have reported food shortages.

On the Brazilian side, which is choking under fumes from fires, authorities have declared a "critical situation," with the low levels of water at a hydropower station that generates 11 percent of the country's electricity causing particular concern.

The logistical difficulties have caused the price of basic goods, including fuel, to rocket. Fishermen are forced to travel ever further upriver to cast their nets.

"If you look along the river, everywhere you go it's dry," Roel Pacaya, a 50-year-old fisherman in the town of Puerto Narino, complained.

A man fishes in the Amazon River in Puerto Narino, Amazonas department, Colombia, on October 3, 2024.
A man fishes in the Amazon River in Puerto Narino, Amazonas department, Colombia, on October 3, 2024. (AFP/Luis Acosta)

Maria Soria, a Yagua woman who makes a living selling handicrafts on Monkey Island, a natural reserve in the Colombian Amazon, is worried that soon "all the river will start to dry up."

"I ask God to change it back to the way it was, so that we can live like before," said the 55-year-old, wearing a traditional blue-feathered headdress and chest covering of palm fiber to perform a dance for a small group of tourists.

Going with the flow

Even for those who still have river access, things aren’t easy.

Eudocia Moran, 59, said she feels imprisoned by the now stagnant waters of the Amazon that lie just a few meters from her home.

 

Shopping trips to Leticia, about 30 miles down the river have become rarer, with boat operators fearing getting stranded in the sand.

Moran, a leader of the Ticuna Indigenous community, is convinced that the solution is a return to the land.

Rather than relying on an ever slower trickle of tourists, she believes the only way to survive is to "immerse ourselves fully in agriculture."

In a garden irrigated by a sliver of the river she grows cassava, beans, corn and fruit.

"I tell everyone we have to go with the flow of the times, because all we can do is learn to live."

Your Opinion Matters

Share your experiences, suggestions, and any issues you've encountered on The Jakarta Post. We're here to listen.

Enter at least 30 characters
0 / 30

Thank you

Thank you for sharing your thoughts. We appreciate your feedback.

Share options

Quickly share this news with your network—keep everyone informed with just a single click!

Change text size options

Customize your reading experience by adjusting the text size to small, medium, or large—find what’s most comfortable for you.

Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone

Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!

Continue in the app

Get the best experience—faster access, exclusive features, and a seamless way to stay updated.