CASE STUDY: WATER QUALITY
Pollution and climate change threaten the cradle of Andean civilization
As a high-altitude lake, natural soil erosion and subsequent sediment run-off have always been a serious problem. Land-use changes and uncontrolled mining have exacerbated the situation by increasing the transport of solid
The online story map can be accessed on the
material to the lake. Organic, chemical and
dedicated case studies website.17
bacterial water pollution is also increasing, primarily as a result of untreated or insufficiently
The waters of Lake Titicaca – a transboundary
treated wastewater and industrial discharges
lake straddling Peru and Bolivia – are considered
from urban centres (Puno, El Alto, Viacha, Oruro
the cradle of Andean civilization. The lake is the
and Juliaca) (Global Environment Facility, n.d.).
largest in South America and the highest
Global warming is also impacting the lake as a
navigable lake in the world (United Nations
result of higher evaporation and the
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
disappearance of glaciers, which were its main
[UNESCO], 2019). It is an extremely complex,
source of replenishment (Cordova, 2011).
unique, yet fragile ecosystem, which is being negatively impacted by natural and anthropogenic factors.
Amy Rollo on Unsplash 17 See https://mango-river-0ac1c3d03.azurestaticapps.net/#/story/0/0/0.
49
PROGRESS ON FRESHWATER ECOSYSTEMS - 2021
