The “small” lake, also called Wiñaymarka, in Titicaca [please visualize the size of the whole and you will notice a larger and a smaller part of it.]

It is contaminated every day with millions of gallons of untreated sewage from the cities of El Alto, Laja, Viacha, Pucarani and Batallas; arriving in the Bay of Cohana through the Katari River. The environmental disaster can even affect global warming by the concentration of methane that may exist between its waters, according to a study made by LIDEMA (League for the Defense of the Environment).

The data correspond to the researcher of LIDEMA, Marco Octavio Rivero, who conducted a scientific study in the lake over the last decade. He explained that there is a greater concentration of pathogenic contamination and that the lower Lake is a potential area that could become a methane bomb.

Methane is a greenhouse gas relatively powerful which contributes to global warming of the planet Earth. The main health danger of methane are burns that can be caused if ignition occurs. It is highly flammable and can form explosive “pockets” when combined with oxygen.

I know LIDEMA’s work for over 25 years and they are professional and dedicated; awareness on the inhabitants of the lake (both Bolivian and Peruvian sides) must be a joint effort. It doesn’t help to finger point, the damage is there and it is up to human society to control these type of pollution. If we wait for governments to act, nothing will happened; USAID was trying to set up a pollution mitigation/prevention effort some four years ago. JICA used to have trout project sponsored projects in the lake and probably there are others out there. Let’s just hope LIDEMA can be heard and prompt mitigation takes place.