Caravans of migrants and refugees are coming from Central America because of poverty and
violence, but climate change is also playing a big role.
Now the new climate change report just released ...
Climate change.
The climate change ...
Climate emergency.
... climate change today, it came with a dire warning.
El Salvador is one of the main places they're fleeing from, and it's experiencing a water
crisis.
95% of the surface water in the country is undrinkable.
In the summer of 2018, droughts in what's known as Central America's “Dry Corridor”
– that's Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and El Salvador
– have been projected to leave up to 2 million people hungry.
Mexico and Central America could see up to 3.9 million climate refugees in the next 30 years.
And around the world, it's expected that just over 143 million people will be displaced
by climate change by 2050.
In El Salvador, it's not just droughts that contribute to lack of water.
For many, the taps are also running dry because of the threat of privatization of what little
drinkable water is left.
The right-wing in the country is trying to introduce a Comprehensive Water Law that will
include members of the business sector on their governing board.
If water becomes privatized in El Salvador, its most vulnerable communities could lose out.
Around 600,000 people in El Salvador have no access to drinking water.
That's around 10% of the country's population.
Anabel Chavez Mejia is one of them.
She lives in the Usulután department in what's considered part of El Salvador's “dry corridor.”
At more than three dollars, a barrel of water costs more than half of what
rural Salvadorans earn in a day.
On top of the burden of retrieving water, El Salvador is one of the most dangerous countries
in the world for women.
In 2017, one woman was murdered every 18 hours.
Latin America continues to be the most dangerous region for environmental activism.
In 2017, the area accounted for 60% of all environmental activists killed.
Despite the challenges of defending water, there have been some environmental wins.
In 2017, El Salvador became the only country in the world to ban mining.
In 2015, the local government stood up to Coca-Cola and stopped them from digging wells
in the Salvadoran town of Nejapa.
But the fight to protect the environment and natural resources in the country is far from over.
Hey guys, thanks for watching. Don't forget to like, share and subscribe.
What should we cover next? Please let us know in the comments below
And watch this video on environmental activist Berta Cáceres.