Lake Titicaca supports hundreds of small Aymara indigenous farming and fishing towns in Peru and Bolivia, but an unchecked urban boom is contaminating the water and threatening lakeshore life.
Published October 8, 2012
El Alto is one of several growing cities in the Lake Titicaca watershed. Numerous Bolivians move here in the hope of finding better education and employment opportunities. But as the area sees a boom in population numbers, pollution increases and endangers the lake and the people who depend on it.
Recently
Marcelino Coila Choque is from a family of fishermen in Peru. From his small village along Lake Titicaca, he has watched the lake's water turn opaque and the fish population plummet.
Lake Titicaca finds itself at great risk from upstream urban pollution as Bolivian residents migrate from the countryside to cities, overwhelming the infrastructure and sending pollution downstream.
Grantee
Sara Shahriari has worked as a print and multimedia journalist in Andean South America for three years.
Shahriari's work has appeared in The Christian Science Monitor, Bloomberg, BusinessWeek,...
