Climate vs. People

The potential harm being done to the Amazon Rainforest by extreme climate fluctuations is only one part of the story. The areas affected by floods and droughts are home to several million people who are forced to deal with and, sometimes, simply survive the effects that too much rain, or lack thereof, has on their lives.

 The droughts in both 2005 and 2010 left “hundreds of riverside settlements cut off from the outside world”, since several tributaries to the Amazon river dried up. This same article states that the Brazilian government tried delivering aid to the hardest-hit areas, and found that the only effective means of transportation were helicopters and planes. While this means that efforts were made to help, it also means that all the people who can only be reached by aircraft were completely stranded, and also little to no means of making a living or obtaining food, water, and medicine.

In 2010, the Negro River (Rio Negro), one of the main tributaries of the Amazon River, almost dried up due to the lack of rainfall. Here is a picture of the Rio Negro when it is flowing:

Courtesy of www.creativecommons.org

             And a picture of the river in 2010, at the peak of the drought:

Link to picture

Needless to say, this kind of situation halts the economic activities related with the river. Fishing and trade via rivers is a staple of the Amazon states’ economies, and without these, a deadly blow is dealt to the livelihoods of those who depend on the river. In order to try and offset some of the hardships brought on by drought, the Brazilian government has no option but to declare a state of calamity in the Amazon regions, and spend millions of pounds in emergency aid.

            The floods seen in 2009 were no better. Whole cities nearly disappeared engulfed in water, leaving only the rooftops of houses visible. While the water is present, the inhabitants of these cities were forced to move away, and in 2009 over 400,000 people were left homeless for the duration of the floods. What makes the situation worse is that, due to the destructive power of the floods, many people did not have homes to return to, and even more had several of their possessions washed away or severely damaged. Once again, the government response was mainly to announce a state of emergency, and spend copious amounts of money on aid.

            However, one more interesting strategy taken by the government was to give lumber seized from illegal logging activities to the poorest residents of the Amazon, so that they could rebuild homes, or build their houses higher to get away from the water. This same article spoke of how the people view floods as a natural part of the Rainforest’s cycle, and they do not have a problem dealing with the regular yearly floods. In fact, they are used to having “the rains usually end like clockwork at the end of March“. The big problem is that in 2009 the floods had more volume, lasted longer, and water levels rose much faster than usual. The exacerbation of seasons seems to be the trend in recent years, and while the effects on the Amazon itself might take a while to be fully understood, there is very little doubt regarding the power of devastation it has on the people who live in or around the forest.

Sources: Rohter, Larry. "Record Drought Cripples Life Along the Amazon ." The New York Times 11 Dec. 2005: n.pag. New York Times. Web. 31 Mar. 2011. <http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/11/international/ americas/11amazon.html>. 

BBC News. "Severe drought afflicts Brazilian Amazon." BBC News. N.p., 23 Oct. 2010. Web. 3 May 2011.

<http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-11610382>. 

USA TODAY. "Amazon hit by climate chaos of floods, drought ." USATODAY.com. N.p., 25 May 2009. Web. 

3 May 2011. <http://www.usatoday.com/weather/2009-05-25-amazon-drought-and-floods_N.htm>.