'¡El Agua es Vida!'

Children from Santiago de Chiquitos performing on World Water Day 2024. // CREDIT: Toke F. Nyborg

“¡El agua es vida! ¡El agua es vida!” (“Water is life!”) chanted the children from Santiago de Chiquitos (Bolivia) last March, 2024, on World Water Day. Gathered at their environmental center, where they learn about the forest and nature conservation, they played music and performed traditional dance shows after weeks of rehearsals in honor of Water Day.

Despite the joyful and festive energy, watching their performances felt bittersweet. Most children, focused on remembering their steps and playing the right notes, were unaware that this day marked the end of the rainy season, and their water reservoirs were still empty. Rain was not expected again until November.

Today, exactly one year later, the situation is the same. But worse.

Empty water reservoir in the Bolivian Chiquitano forest in March 2024. // CREDIT: Maia Galmés Feuer

The reality is that the lack of rain has affected Bolivia, as well as many other Amazon countries, since 2021. This prolonged drought has severely impacted people’s livelihoods, as well as the flora and fauna of the Amazon Rainforest, for four years now.

Failed harvests, empty water reservoirs, shallow rivers, and the dangerous increase and spread of wildfires are just a few of the effects of such a prolonged drought.

What do numbers say?

According to the World Meteorological Organization, 2024 was the hottest year since temperature records began 175 years ago. And with that, it became the worst year for wildfires in the Amazon Rainforest’s history. Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru all saw 860,000 km² of their trees, animals and forest communities burn to the ground. In other words, an area bigger than the whole of Sweden and Norway combined was completely destroyed by fires in 2024.

2024 wildfire in the Bolivian Chiquitano forest. // CREDIT: FCBC

The WMO also states that each of the past ten years have been the ten warmest years in history, and the concentration of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere has not been this high in the last 800,000 years. Taking into account that forests absorb and store vast amounts of carbon dioxide and also cool down temperature, it is essential to have standing forests at the center of all conservation efforts.

In the jungle

For many communities in the Amazon, rain is more than a seasonal event, it is a lifeline. Without it, many lose access to clean drinking water, their crops, often their only source of food, fail, and transportation by river, often the only way to reach other areas, becomes impossible.

According to UNICEF, the ongoing drought has left 420,000 children across the Rainforest without sufficient food, water, or access to education. But the consequences don’t end here, as contaminated or polluted waters increases the spread of disease throughout local communities.

Jeovanny Chavez, the cacique (community leader) of the San Josema community in the Bolivian Amazon, explains how the lack of rain has affected her community.

Jeovanny Chavez, cacique of the San Josema community in the Bolivian Amazon. // CREDIT: Maia Galmés Feuer

With rivers drying up and food sources shrinking, many communities that were once deeply connected to their environment now face increasing isolation, displacement from ancestral lands and uncertainty about the future.

An area bigger than the whole of Sweden and Norway combined was completely destroyed by fires in 2024.

Together with our partners from Fundación para la Conservación del Bosque Chiquitano – FCBC, we have supported local firefighter brigades and provided direct emergency support to combat the extensive wildfires. Additionally, we work to create awareness and engagement in water management techniques across Bolivia, as well as Peru.

Today, on World Water Day, we emphasize the urgency of this crisis and the need for immediate action to ensure that everyone has sustainable access to clean water.