Lake Titicaca's Waters Severely Receded Leaving Indigenous People Struggling

(Photo : Getty Images/JUAN CARLOS CISNEROS)

Experts said that the waters of Lake Titicaca have severely receded and this will leave indigenous people struggling.

Around the canal, the landscape is seen to be arid.

Severe Drought

It was said that the severe drought endangers the ancestral land of the indigenous people living in the area and those who have regarded the lake as a sacred place.

They have identified themselves as beings of water and their existence have revolved around it.

Due to the grave drought, the entire local economy has been affected.

Officials said that fishing, agriculture and livestock farming sectors have suffered in the Titicaca region.

So far, communities that rely on fishing are struggling as low water levels exacerbate the already-existing issues of dwindling fish species as a result of pollution and overfishing.

Drought has also had an impact on agriculture, with regional officials claiming that crops suffered greatly during the recent harvest season.

The entire majority of quinoa and potato crops, both local staples, as well as oats used to feed livestock, have been damaged.

The tourist industry suffered as well, as boats used to shuttle guests around the lake became stuck as the waters retreated.

Authorities said that on the Peruvian side, more than 100 platforms made of totora reeds rise out of the water to the north-east. These are considered as the homes and workplaces of about 2,000 Uros.

Early this month, the water level at Lake Titicaca at the Peru-Bolivia border is edging towards a record low.

This was exacerbated by the weather phenomenon known as the El Nino that is expected to get more intense in the coming months.

Severe drought conditions and unusually high temperatures have caused the shoreline to shrivel at Titicaca, which is considered as South America's largest lake and the world's highest navigable body of water.

The water level had reached around 13 inches (33 cm), which was above its record low recorded in 1943.

Researchers said that the double whammy of extreme dryness and heat has led to higher-than-normal water evaporation.

They found out that over the past seven months, the lake's water level has fallen 29 inches (74 cm).

Lake Titicaca

Lake Titicaca is sometimes referred to as a "inland sea," and it is home to indigenous cultures of Aymara, Quechua, and Uros.

It is situated in the middle Andes mountain range at an elevation of roughly 3,800 meters (12,500 feet), making it the highest navigable lake in the world.

The lake's high altitude also exposes it to high levels of solar radiation, which increases evaporation and accounts for the majority of its water losses.

In 2018, a UNESCO workshop in Lake Titicaca convened area specialists to debate scientific research and the protection of underwater cultural heritage, its role in sustainable development, and a project to create an underwater museum.

Experts noted the "gradual decline" in lake water levels in recent years, and a recent study that examined satellite images from 1992 to 2020 found that Lake Titicaca is losing around 120 million metric tons of water per year, which the authors attribute to changes in precipitation and runoff.