 |
| Maria Gallucci/International Business Times |
It’s not all about corruption in Guatemala. Maria Gallucci looks at the impact of climate change on Central America with Guatemala’s Vanishing Harvests for the International Business Times. It’s not pretty.
Diplomats from nearly 200 nations will gather in Paris next week to discuss climate change and hammer out a global plan for curbing emissions. But halfway around the world, Banegas and millions of Guatemalan families are experiencing firsthand the threats of a warming planet. Guatemala is among the world’s 10 most vulnerable nations when it comes to climate change, owing to its unique geography and extreme social inequality, according to the Climate Risk Index. Sandwiched between two oceans and straddling three tectonic plates, the country faces threats from hurricanes, torrential floods, enduring droughts, brutal cold snaps and earthquakes.
At least eight severe storms have sacked the country since 1998, racking up around $3.5 billion in economic losses and property damage — a sum equal to roughly 6 percent of Guatemala’s $58.7 billion gross domestic product in 2014. Most recently, a tropical storm in early October triggered a massive mudslide outside Guatemala City, killing 271 people and leaving dozens missing.
Beyond one-off extremes, progressive changes in temperature and rainfall are altering the agricultural landscape that the poorest of Guatemala’s 15.5 million residents depend on to earn a living and feed their families.
Climate instability really seems to be affecting ramón or xate, things I’ve never heard of, as well as the coffee and timber industries. It’s a really interesting article – I’d recommend reading it in its entirety. I’m considering using it in my Central America course next semester.
Three years later, The United States should grant TPS for Guatemala.
