Engineers Without Borders USA Climate Initiative 2022 Summary Report

Introduction

During 2023 and early 2022 as COVID travel restrictions lessened and travel to our project locations became possible once again, staff recognized the need for an update to our climate change evaluation and methodology. While looking at the various climate data portals and researching quantitative data, we realized that to truly improve our evaluation of climate change, we needed to hear from our partners about what climate change looks like in their communities. This need to listen and understand climate impact was the inception of the EWB-USA 2022 Climate Initiative.

Throughout 2022, Engineers Without Borders - USA (EWB-USA) Denver office and country office staff traveled to six countries, the US territory of Puerto Rico, and the City of New Orleans where we have projects with partner communities. The initiative collected climate and project impact from 55 projects (approximately 12% of our total projects) in 39 different communities.

During these meetings, the staff talked to community members, nonprofit organizations, and primary stakeholders about the changes they are seeing in their climate. We wanted to understand not just the change in climate but to hear the voices of those directly impacted on how those changes play out in their daily lives. This report summarizes our findings.

Habert Ongom, from the Engineers Without Borders East Africa Office, and George Kasaga, Headmaster at the Nakyenyi Primary School, discuss project needs and the impact of Climate Change in Uganda.

Key Findings

Climate change is resulting in more unpredictable weather patterns

The majority of our international partner communities are located in regions where the rainy season/dry season cycle is the dominant weather pattern Regardless of their location, our partners reported that the beginning and end of the rainy season are no longer consistent. When the rain comes and the way it comes has also changed. Instead of regular steady rain spread out over days or weeks, the rain now comes in short bursts of intense storms that only last a day or two with gaps in precipitation in between the next rainfall event. This unpredictability can have a dramatic impact on the communities.

The unpredictable start to the rainy season means that farmers don’t know when to plant. “Before we used the moon to plan our planting seasons. Now, we don’t know when to start.” - Los Gomez, Nicaragua

Most of our partner communities survive on subsistence agriculture or are small-scale commercial operations. (They sell their produce at the local market or in the nearest town). Planting at the wrong time can lead to reduced crop yields or a complete failure of that season’s crop.

A reduction in crop income means a severe reduction in family and community income or even a loss of food security.

Hotter and Dryer

Although there are several exceptions, the majority of our partner communities reported that the total volume of wet season rainfall had dropped and that the wet season has gotten shorter. For many, a longer dry season means hotter temperatures for longer intervals.

A decrease in total wet-season rainfall means lower crop yields. To make up for less water, the farmers are using more fertilizer. Using fertilizer costs more and, because fertilizer production is energy-intensive, can contribute to greenhouse gas emissions. With hotter temperatures come more insects, pests, and fungi. To combat these invaders the community members are buying more pesticides, again raising costs.

Figure 1- Nicaragua Precipitation

Economic Stress

Increased Destruction from Extreme Weather Events

Extreme weather events such as hurricanes are having profound impacts on our partner communities. Hurricanes Iota and Ida left a trail of destruction across Nicaragua and Guatemala. Hurricanes have historically caused widespread power outages and damage in Puerto Rico. Recovery efforts from these events are costly and hold back many communities from further development. However, rebuilding always provides an opportunity to construct more resilient, longerlasting infrastructure.

The lack of regular agricultural income adds to the economic stress on our partner communities. Many of those in our partner communities are subsistence agriculturalists or small commercial farmers that sell their crops in the nearest town or at the weekly market. Any farmer in the world will tell you their crops need regular rainfall and their animals need regular feeding. Consistency is the backbone of successful agriculture but that is not true of their weather anymore.

Agricultural costs are going up and incomes are dropping. To make up for the loss in agricultural income, people are having to sell off other assets. Farmers typically can last through a bad year or two but multiple years of reduced income, due to the impact of a changing climate, is leading to a reduced standard of living. Spending money on things like medicine and education is secondary to procuring food so education is becoming reduced and community health is eroded. In many cases, the general standard of living has declined and things like new clothes and new shoes are out of reach.

"It has become harder to know when to plant. Last year the rains came early and destroyed much of the seed."

Figure 2- Hurricane Fiona

“Previously, we used to get 40 sacks of beans per manzana (2.5 acres) of land. Now, we only harvest 25 sacks per manzana. With yields down and costs up, there is less money in agriculture. The young men of the village now try to move outside of Nicaragua where they can get a better paying job and send money back.”

Cultural Impact and Migration

A reduced standard of living can also mean a reduced social standing. In tight-knit communities, the loss of income means there is little extra money for celebrating friends, family, and important events. Additionally, many of our communities have lived on the same land for hundreds of years, and hey have a deep connection to the land and the seasons. That relationship is now breaking in that they no longer trust the rain to fall as it used to. The crops don’t grow as they used to. More frequent, stronger, unpredictable storms are causing landslides and road washouts severing their access to markets and adjacent communities. Their trust in the weather is broken.

Loss of social standing and loss of trust in the land and the future are leading to the most wrenching social change: migration. The young people in the communities are leaving, looking for better jobs and a brighter future. Many of our Central and South American community partners specifically mentioned their young people are headed to the United States border. Part of our border crisis is driven by climate change and we have to work together to solve it.

Developing Climate-Resilient Solutions

At EWB-USA, the communities we partner with drive projects and we work to implement their highest priorities. We work on a wide variety of projects which help communities thrive while adapting to climate change. For example:

Bridges are keeping people safe and out of ever more frequent floods, while at the same time promoting cleaner water and improving trade.

Civil Projects help with improving things such as road drainage and reducing the damage that is caused by extreme rainfall events.

Energy Projects are reducing greenhouse gas emissions and reducing spending on wood and fossil fuels for cooking. Solar projects provide energy when the grid electrical system fails during a major weather event.

Water- water is life, and the majority of our projects revolve around either potable or agricultural water. Having a reliable source of clean drinking water helps insulate a community against the unknowns of future weather patterns, while agricultural water has a direct impact on livelihoods and a community’s economy. Additionally, access to water generally means there is a reduction in water-borne illness, children are less absent from school due to sickness, and childhood mortality is reduced.

We're Stronger Together

As challenging as climate change has been for our communities, they are smart, strong, and adapting. Here are just a few examples of climate adaptation and resilience in the communities we partner with. Understanding these adaptation techniques and cross-training our partner communities is a crucial aspect of the climate work EWB-USA has set for 2023 and beyond.

Many of our partner communities are trying new seed mixes that mature faster to adapt to a shorter growing season. Our partners in Los Gomez, Nicaragua are mixing seeds and agricultural methods between traditional and more modern techniques.

Our Denver Professional Chapter is partnering with the community of Guangaje, Ecuador to replace their traditional water source with a piped water system. Their traditional water source for their crops is drying up and no longer reliable

In Nuevo Amancer, Nicaragua they are composting old leaves and other plant material on these terraces which returns nutrients to the soil. In Chosavic, Guatemala, they are cutting invasive plants and weeds and incorporating the cuttings into the soil to retain its moisture.

Our partners at the SLOIC Mattru Jong Vocational Training Centre in Sierra Leone are in the initial phases of working on a curriculum to teach alternate agricultural techniques to limit deforestation, improve income, and lessen the impacts of climate change. The surrounding communities supplement rainfall in the early (variable) parts of the rainy season with pumped agricultural water.

In Cuby and Isabella Puerto Rico, we are assisting the local fire departments in retrofitting solar power backup systems to their buildings. These systems were critical to their emergency response to Hurricane Fiona. The fire departments are now looking to duplicate the solar power systems at their other fire stations.

In La Bendicion, Nicaragua they are strategically planting native grasses on the perimeters of fields. These grasses slow the velocity of water allowing it to soak in. Reduced surface velocities also reduce soil erosion and increase soil retention. They are also experimenting with hydroponics and greenhouses.

Many communities have switched to drought-resistant crops and away from water-intensive plants.

Our partners in Sector 3, Caserío La Fé, Pujujil, Guatemala have switched to planting on the other side of the hill where the crops don’t freeze in colder weather.

In Carnachique and Pusunchas, Peru farmers are changing the crops to drought-resistant vegetables during the dry season, and more recently, a large majority of farmers are constructing/utilizing earthen water reservoirs to provide a source for irrigation during the dry season.