Cleaning up the 'sacred lake': locals tackle Titicaca pollution

[Judi Lynn]

3 DAYS AGO

A group of indigenous women from Bolivia and Peru supported by a NGO, carry out the cleaning of garbage washed along the coast of the Titicaca lake in an attempt to mitigate the harmful effects of pollution on native fauna and flora.



Aymara indigenous people fish on Lake Titicaca near Quehuaya in Bolivia, on June 2, 2018. (AFP)

Under a blazing sun on the arid banks of Lake Titicaca, high in the Andes Mountains, around a dozen indigenous women work tirelessly to collect cans, bottles and plastic bags.

The women with their long black braids, traditional red bell-shaped skirts, thick woollen jackets and felt bowler hats hope to set an example for other local residents and tourists who leave tons of garbage by the lake every year.

But their efforts may amount to nothing more than window dressing; wastewater from the surrounding region is contaminating the lake, which many local people rely on for fishing to make a living.

At 8,500 sq km (about 3,300 square miles), Titicaca which straddles the border between Bolivia and Peru is as big as the French island of Corsica.

More:
https://www.trtworld.com/life/cleaning-up-the-sacred-lake-locals-tackle-titicaca-pollution-18028

Environment and energy:
https://www.democraticunderground.com/1127117824