The War of the Pacific between Bolivia and Peru in the late 19^th century led to major geopolitical, diplomatic, and economic restructuring that still negatively affects the region today.

In the early 1880s, Chile annexed the Peruvian province of Tarapacá and the Bolivian province of Litoral, both substantially mineral-rich territories. Bolivia was stripped of coastal access to the Pacific Ocean and became a landlocked country.

Since the 1884 Treaty of Peace and Friendship with Chile, Bolivian politicians including President Evo Morales, have consistently sought to reclaim access to the Pacific coastline in order to promote economic development and increase Bolivia’s international trade.

Recently, recovering maritime rights in Bolivia has made some headway. Last October, Peru granted La Paz, the capital city of Bolivia, access to a three-mile long strip of land, south of Peru’s Port of Ilo and 100 miles north of Tacna, a Peruvian city close to the northern Chilean border.

The agreement, called the Boliviamar secures a 99-year lease of the Port of Ilo and for a free-trade zone, which includes exemptions in the areas of customs duties, taxes, and labor law for Bolivia.

Bolivian President Evo Morales insisted this pact was an opportunity to open the intercontinental door to Bolivians. “The sea is for world trade, the sea is so that the products of our peoples can circulate and have access to these ports.”

The Boliviamar also requires construction of 245 miles of highway to connect Bolivia with the port facilities in southern Peru. According to Viviana Caro, the Bolivian Minister for Planning and Development, this will reduce goods transport from Bolivia into important Asian markets by some 40 per cent.

The Bolivian government also intends to invest $400 million in the development of the Port of Ilo to facilitate the import and export of goods, and to promote tourism.

Bolivia’s free access to its own international port is more than a mere diplomatic break-through. It represents a unique opportunity to boost Bolivia’s economy in several ways. Increased exports in Bolivian goods will generate more revenue for the country and strengthen its competitiveness on the global market.

Sustaining Bolivia’s economic development at a local and international level requires the cultivation of the country’s natural resources, including oil, gas, and other minerals. Trading these goods with neighboring countries and other entities will revolutionize marine trade in the region.

Providing marine access to Bolivia and developing its marine trade will promote economic growth and decrease rates of poverty by providing new employment opportunities for local residents. Marine trade will ultimately generate income for local artisans, farmers, and other small business owners who depend on mercantile trade for survival.

President Evo Morales stated, “Ninety-nine years, that gives us confidence to make significant investments in the Port of Ilo,” as the country seeks to encourage private companies to financially support that effort.”

By reducing duty payments to Chile, increasing exports, developing the tourism industry, and creating new jobs for Bolivians, coastal access will dramatically improve the lives of Bolivians and the economy of Bolivia.

Submitted by Guest Writer: Alice Jobard

The photo above is a picture of the Port of Ilo in Peru, taken by Bruno Moretti

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Children in poor countries often have up to 1,000 parasitic worms in their body due to lack of clean drinking water. A five minute shower in America requires more water than a typical person in the developing world uses in one day according to statistics by Water.org. Some of these children will not live to see Santa Clause coming to town. You can change that.

Water.org is a non-profit organization that was co-founded by actor Matt Damon and social entrepreneur Gary White. This holiday, Water.org is offering seasonal shoppers the opportunity to give two of life’s greatest gifts, health and hygiene.

Nicole Wickenhauser is the Sr. Communications and Development Manager of Water.org. In a telephone interview, Wickenhauser told WaterWideWeb, “You can change someone’s life with just a $25 donation”.

Please watch the video of Water.org’s work in Bangledesh here

Donations from holiday givers to Water.org are allocated to community water projects in South East Asia, Latin America, and Africa. Investing in health and hygiene this holiday season is a dual offense to combating mortality rates from water-borne diseases in the developing world.

Research from Water.org concludes that almost one billion people in the world do not have access to clean drinking water, while 2.5 billion people do not have access to a toilet. Research also indicates that lack of sanitation is the world’s leading causes of infections.  A majority of the world’s illnesses are caused by fecal matter. The cholera outbreak in Haiti is an unfortunate example of the dire consequences witnessed when proper programs are not instituted to keep drinking water and sanitation systems to separate.

Water needs and sustainable solutions to meet those needs vary according to the region and community serviced. Water.org works with local partners who can identify a community’s specific needs and trouble shoot methods to meet them appropriately. These local partners are trained on maintenance repairs and other services needed to maintain the operation of the water service after it is implemented.

“We conduct surveys to ensure that projects are effective. We follow up on our programs and monitor the water point’s functionality at all times,” said Wickenhauser. Efforts launched by Water.org include education on hygiene practices and their link to public health. Informing community members on the importance of hand washing and other personal hygiene regimens goes hand in hand with addressing underlying issues like infection and mortality.

In the developing world, 90 percent of deaths from diarrheal diseases occur in children under 5 years-old. For them, holiday will not be the fan fare that other people enjoy. This holiday, consider a giving the gift of health and hygiene to children who can’t live another day without it.

The water crisis causes more deaths than wars cause fatalities. Individually, we may not have the ability to bring peace to warring nations, but we do have a chance to save more lives than on the battlefield. As a holiday gift, it is the gift of life.  

What’s on your holiday list this season?

Would you consider investing in health and hygiene?

Other articles on WaterWideWeb.org that you may enjoy:

Student NGO Builds Wells in India

Bridging Water and Education in Kenya

UNICEF Targets Latino Community in Awareness Campaign

Repairing Water Wells in Africa

Please read WaterWideWeb.org’s newest series on Nautical Archaeology:

Part I-Nautical Archaeology Threatened by Trawling

Part II-UNESCO Works to Preserve Nautical Archaeology

*All media in this article was provided by Water.org

Dr. Teofilo Montiero is the Environmental Health and Sustainable Development Advisor of the Pan American Health Organization in Bogota, Colombia. In a telephone interview, Montiero discussed the waste water management issues in Colombia and suggested a targeted action plan to address the nation’s water issue.

The Indigenous and Afro-Colombians are the most vulnerable groups impacted by lack of water in Colombia. These communities, along with other Pacific coast residents, live far away from Colombia’s municipalities like Bogota and Medellin.  Hence, their water resources are at best limited, and at the worst non-existent.

“Some of these people don’t even have running water or flush toilets” said Montiero. As a consequence, these historically marginalized and displaced groups, face public health risks such as bacterial diarrhea.

The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are a list of eight goals set in 2000 by the United Nations and agreed upon by world leaders. UN member states aim to achieve these goals by 2015. Initiatives include reducing child mortality, improving maternal health, and eradicating extreme poverty and hunger. The former goals are contingent upon effective water management systems.

 “Overall, Colombia will achieve the MDGs. But in specific areas where indigenous and Afro-Colombians live, there will still be a problem locally” asserted Montiero.

Waste water management has taken a toll on both the local and national level in Colombia. Isolated communities function without access to water resources and hydroelectric power was compromised because of untreated solid waste in the water. Hydroelectric power is a major source of energy in the country. The contamination level of the Bogota River was once so critical that the production of energy was interrupted.

President Juan Manuel Santos spoke in Cali, Colombia earlier this month on environmental and water concerns. The President noted that Colombia has, “immense water reservoirs but they are managed very badly.” Santos proposed that a Ministry of the Environment, independent of other ministries, be instituted.

Currently, the Ministry of the Environment, Housing, Water, and Local Development serves as an umbrella for individual public works programs. The Vice Ministry of Water is a smaller organ of an overarching ministry which oversees policy and programs related to the environment, housing, water and local development.  

Private sector companies are involved in the waste water management problem that Colombia faces. Clearford Industries Inc. is a Canadian-based global waste water management company. Clearford Industries Inc. finalized agreements in September of this year to use their technology in the Valle de Cauca region of Colombia. In San Pedro and Cerrito, where Clearford Industries Inc. will render their services, 25,000 people still live without sewage systems.

In a telephone interview, Bruce Linton of Clearford Industries Inc. described the company’s involvement in San Pedro and Cerrito. “There is a basic governmental sanitation program in Colombia which grants a quarter of a million dollars per 3,000 people if a waste water management program is implemented.

Clearford Industries Inc. will apply their technology and employ local labor to complete the project. When asked if fair wages would be provided, Linton answered, “There is a corporate policy approved by the Board which stipulates that employment practices must be held to the Canadian law standard. Meaning, if it isn’t legal in Canada, it isn’t legal wherever Clearford operates.”

Colombia has made progress with sanitation and water concerns over the past ten years but there is a need for sustainable development practices and infrastructure to support their programs. A concerted effort to provide communities with access to running water and sanitation systems in the 21^st century is imperative.

For Colombia, water affects health, sanitation, energy and their lush tropical lands. Colombia is known for its biodiversity. More than 3,000 species of wildlife, plants and fauna are native to the South American paradise  and depend upon appropriate water resources for survival.

The country has the capacity and technological advancements necessary to meet the MDGs at the local, regional and national level by 2015. An integrated response to Colombia’s water program requires a collaborative response from the government, as well as public and private sectors. 

If successful, the restructuring of Colombia’s water program could serve as a model for other countries with similar waste water concerns.

The photo of indigenous Colombians above is a UN photo taken by Mark Garten.

The spill has had a tremendous impact on the life of indigenous people who hold a great respect and reverence for natural resources. To coordinate their efforts towards finding a solution to diminish or at least contain damage, native people have traveled more than 3500 kilometers from the Ecuadorian Amazon in order to join a support rally with other native tribes. “Members of the United Houma Nation, a state recognized Tribe of 17,000 in the marshland of southeastern Louisiana, are subsistence fishers and trappers, who, in wake of the BP Deeepwater Horizon disaster, are facing an uncertain future” (Source: http://www.circleofblue.org/waternews/2010/world/people-from-ecuador-to-louisiana-forge-alliances-against-global-oil-spills/). Such communities have a special relationship with nature and all its elements; they have a great respect towards water since their survival depends of water’s resources like fish. Nature is at the centre of their economical and social survival. The Ecuadorian people feel directly involve in this situation since for the past 17 years they have been waiting for the outcome of the lawsuit filed against Chevron and Texaco. The case should decide if Chevron is guilty for having polluted around 5000 square kilometers of the Amazon Rainforest. This weeklong meeting was a unique occasion for the Ecuadorian people to share their knowledge, stories and experience in recovering from a disaster of such a large endeavor. In a press release, Thomas Dardar Jr., Principal Chied of the United Houma Nation said that he was pleased to meet his brothers and sisters from the Amazon in order to exchange opinion on how to protect the “indigenous way of life when face with such huge environmental impacts” (Source: http://www.circleofblue.org/waternews/2010/world/people-from-ecuador-to-louisiana-forge-alliances-against-global-oil-spills/).

While the native communities are organizing themselves to come up with a plan of action and to share their stories, musicians and artists all over the United States have offered their own contribution in response to the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. From direct money donations to benefit concerts, artists have launched a new initiative: they will boycott BP products for all 2010 tours. Lady Gaga is the newest addition to this initiative launched by Jonathon Davis of KORN who has declared in an interview: “From everything we’re hearing about now, it’s become clear that BP cut corners to put profit ahead of safety. The message we are sending should tell all the oil companies to spend they money and take the necessary precautions to make sure this doesn’t happen again” (Source: http://www.forbes.com/2010/06/22/bp-spill-boycott-technology-lady-gaga.html). Not long ago, only the Backstreet Boys and KORN were on board; while now the initiative seems to have had a snowball effect, with many other artists like Creed, Megadeth or Filter. It is yet too early to determine the impact of this boycott, perhaps others bands will jump on board and maybe even fans.  This boycott raises a series of controversial questions and ethical debates. Will a boycott truly make a difference? Will BP use this boycott has an excuse to declare they lack the money in order to reimburse victims and to clean up the gulf?

Other strands of opinion seem to contradict this movement arguing that boycotting BP doesn’t really affect BP but instead causes financial harm to the station owners. Many American consumers are starting to refuse to fill up their cars with gas sold under BP’s name. “In 2008, BP announced it was exiting the retail gasoline business because the margins were lousy. Today, BP owns only about 100 of the 900 or so gas stations bearing its name. The rest are operated by independent business owners” (Source: http://www.dailyfinance.com/story/media/boycott-bp-that-hurts-station-owners-not-the-company/19499350/). Stations who bear the BP brand are suffering greatly in this situation and due to legal contracts they have no way to distance or separate themselves from the giant firm. According to protesters, their objective is not to hurt local station owners, “the boycott’s objective is to tarnish BP” (Source: http://www.dailyfinance.com/story/media/boycott-bp-that-hurts-station-owners-not-the-company/19499350/ ).

While many critiques and reactions are questionable, one thing is for sure, people are angry and demand explanations. While answers fail to arrive, and time is ticking citizens and individuals that have directly been impacted by this disaster feel the need to react and to communicate their sentiments to the entire world. Only time will tell if those initiatives will make the difference, but at least some of us feel the need to take action immediately, putting pressure on BP and the Obama administration.