By\u00a0Dr. Edwin Castellanos\u00a0<\/span><\/em>Co-Director, Center for Environmental Studies and Biodiversity –\u00a0<\/i><\/span>Universidad del Valle de Guatemala.\u00a0<\/i><\/span>Lead Author of the UN IPCC\u2019s Fifth Assessment Report on Climate Change; and\u00a0Paris Rivera,\u00a0<\/span>Climatologist \u2013 INSIVUMEH\u00a0<\/i><\/span>(National Institute of Seismology, Volcanology, Meteorology, and Hydrology).<\/i><\/span><\/i><\/span><\/p>\n Dr. Edwin Castellanos:<\/p>\n Climate change will be felt in Guatemala essentially as a problem of water management.<\/span><\/p>\n Farmers report that it\u2019s now more difficult to predict the beginning and the end of the rainy season. The famous May rains are increasingly becoming rains of June. This, of course, has increased considerably the problem of food insecurity and famine, especially in the area of the country called the corredor seco<\/i> (the departments of Quich\u00e9, Baja Verapaz, Guatemala, El Progreso, Zacapa, Jalapa, Chiquimula, and Jutiapa). (Editorial note: the national rate of malnutrition in children under five years old is over 40%.) Climate change will bring higher temperatures, which will increase the probability of having drier regions with less agricultural productivity.<\/span><\/p>\n Just as we\u2019ve had a shortage of rainfall in the last years, in the past decade climatic variations have also expressed themselves in an increase of extreme weather events, not only tropical storms and hurricanes, but also torrential rains that cause floods and landslides that leave considerable damage and death tolls. We therefore need to prepare ourselves to confront alternating periods of scarce rainfall, by increasing our storage and mobilization capacity, and periods of intense rainfall, when we\u2019ll need better infrastructure to reduce the impacts of flooding and the probability of deadly landslides.<\/span><\/p>\n Poverty, among other factors, makes the country highly vulnerable to the buffeting of a more extreme climate.<\/span><\/p>\n Much of the lack of water already observed in Guatemala comes from poor management of this vital resource, especially in terms of the pollution of surface water from the sewage we discard without any kind of treatment. (Editorial note: Recent reports estimate that more than 90% of groundwater sources and more than 98% of rivers and streams contain bacterial pollution.) As such, climate change will put additional pressure on Guatemala to develop adequate legislation so that we can better manage and conserve our water resources.<\/span><\/p>\n Read Dr. Castellanos’ full article here.<\/a><\/p>\n
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