El Salvador
by Diego De Leon
Part I:
In recent times, El Salvador has been plagued by economic, social, and recently a civil war; this has resulted in various after-effects that continue to be an issue in this small country, mainly environmental issues. Currently, “the environment continues to deteriorate due to the military confrontation and the lack of information regarding environmental issues. People are more worried about the military confrontation, and therefore the environmental situation is of lower concern” (Navarro). This lack of awareness leads to three major environmental issues in El Salvador: deforestation, air pollution, and water pollution.
A major environmental issue that is affecting El Salvador today is air pollution. Recent World Bank studies in El Salvador have shown that estimated that the “cost of outdoor air pollution is equivalent to approximately 1 percent of national GDP” (Maggiora et al. vii). This shows that the cost of outdoor air pollution in this country is a relevant issue that has many implications. This tends to be a major issue in major metropolitan cities such as San Salvador where traffic congestion contributes to the overall CO2 emissions.
One major environmental issue that is affecting El Salvador is water pollution. The problem is not the lack of water; the real problem is that “clean water is in short supply. Contaminated water kills thousands of Salvadorans every year. Most are children” (Navarro). Andrés McKinley, former El Salvador director for Oxfam America, a nongovernmental organization, states, “96 percent of its surface water is contaminated, mostly with agricultural and industrial runoff.” “A significant amount of that contamination comes from waste dumping by silver and gold mines” (Goldman). What makes matters worse is the lack of a country-wide water delivery system. In addition, much of the natural water is left untreated and is eventually consumed by Salvadoran citizens.
One such example of recent cases that are affecting the water supply is the recent development of the Cerro Blanco mine in Guatemala. Although the mine is located in Guatemala, the Lempa River also provides water to Honduras and El Salvador for “hydroelectric projects as well for human consumption, including in 13 municipalities in San Salvador’s metropolitan area” (Soto). In a study conducted by El Salvador’s CEICOM, Centre for the Investigation of Investment and Commerce, stated that it “found high levels of arsenic, lithium, fluoride and boron in waters around the Cerro Blanco mine”(Soto). If the development of this mine does happen, critics say that the amount of contamination in the Lempa River will be imminent.
Perhaps the most important environmental issue that is affecting El Salvador today is the widespread deforestation of the country. The statistics regarding deforestation are alarming. “Almost 85 percent of its forested cover has disappeared since the 1960s, leaving about 5 percent of the land area forested. Less than 6,000 hectares are classified as primary forest” (Mongabay). There are several driving forces that keep deforestation in El Salvador alive. Such forces include high persistent demand for wood, urban pressures, and industrial pressures. “With a 2000 population of 6.3 million inhabiting an area of just 21,000 square kilometers, El Salvador has more than 315 persons per square kilometer, making it the most densely populated country on the American continent” (Blackman et al.). In addition, the lack of environmental law enforcement allows for illegal logging in rural regions such as Jiquilisco Bay and the Cordillera del Balsamo.
In the case of the Cordillera del Balsamo, “it was observed that this allows particular interest groups, such as construction companies and large landowners, to bribe public officials” (Global Forest Coalition). Since poverty is prevalent in this area, it predisposes to accept such projects when in reality, they are environmentally responsible. In the case of Jiquilisco Bay, a major tourism location, many of these large infrastructure projects such as planned trans-El Salvadoran Road are being headed by “international trade and investment agreements” (Global Forest Coalition).
These are major environmental issues, regardless of the order in which they were placed in. They were labeled according to how crucial they are to El Salvador’s environmental stability. Air pollution is a major issue but this is more prevalent in urbanized and industrialized areas. As for water pollution, it is another major issue but what makes deforestation a bigger issue is the fact that deforestation makes affects a variety of issues ranging from economic to political to social.
Part II:
With deforestation destroying most of El Salvador’s natural environment, there needs to be an improvement in information technology that would allow for an increase in awareness of the issue. Luckily, recently, there has been development of software by search engine giant, Google that would allow for the tracking of deforestation around the world. It was developed in conjunction with Greg Asner, professor of the Department of Global Ecology at the Carnegie Institution for Science and of the Department of Geological and Environmental Sciences at Stanford University; and Carlos Souza, a geologist at Imazon, the Amazon Institute for the People and Environment. This mechanism, called Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries, was introduced by the United Nations at the UN Climate Conference in Copenhagen to illustrate the potential of the software. This software can not only help pave way anti-deforestation efforts in El Salvador, but can also pave way anti-deforestation around the world.
This software is relatively simple in the way in the way it functions which allows for maximum effectiveness. “Google.org's prototype software, environmental authorities or NGOs interested in monitoring forests start with satellite images of their area and track how the size and shape of the tree cover has changed over time” (Alok Jha). This would allow the software to process the images to extract useful information regarding how much tree cover has changed over time. Although Google Earth has provided satellite images of forests over time, there was no way to quickly and sufficiently analyze the incoming raw satellite imagery data. Colby Loucks, deputy director of the conservation science program at WWF-US said: "A cost-effective and transparent approach for monitoring deforestation is needed to help pave the way for a global Redd program. If Google's system can be expanded to cover forests globally and access near real-time imagery, it can potentially be a powerful tool that helps tropical countries monitor forest loss” (Alok Jha). If El Salvador taps into this software as a source for environmental analysis, it would acknowledge how much deforestation has destroyed its environment since the Civil War.
Although this prototype is simple in terms of functionality, there continue to be technological problems that hinder the ability for the software to function at its greatest capabilities. Perhaps the most problematic road block would have to be that the “mainstream use of the models has been slow due to lack of access to high-quality satellite images and the computer power needed to carry out the analysis” (Alok Jha). Especially since El Salvador is still considered a developing nation, the lack of computer power needed is magnified. However, Google has implemented a solution that would assist with the lack of computing power. Google decided that in order to combat this issue, it needs to place itself in the middle of it; Google will use its own computing power to develop a platform that would allow for massive information traffic. If El Salvador adopts and commits to this software prototype, it would allow the software to function at its greatest efficiency.
Recently, El Salvador has been ravaged by deforestation. Most of its natural tree cover has been destroyed since the Civil War. In order to combat the issue, there needs to be some form of information technology that allows for careful monitoring of the remaining forests in the country. This software allows for such monitoring. It ultimately has the potential to bring greater awareness of the continuing deforestation in El Salvador.
Works Cited
Blackman, Allen, Beatriz Avalos-Sartorio, and Jeffrey Chow. "Tree Cover Loss in El Salvador’s Shade Coffee Areas." Resources for the Future. Resources for the Future, 2007. Web. 19 Feb. 2013. http://www.rff.org/rff/Documents/RFF-DP-07-32.pdf.
"El Salvador: Environmental Profile." El Salvador: Environmental Profile. Mongabay, n.d. Web. 20 Feb. 2013. http://rainforests.mongabay.com/20elsalvador.htm.
"Getting to the Roots: Underlying Causes of Deforestation and Forest Degradation, and Drivers of Forest Restoration." Global Forest Coalition, Dec. 2010. Web. 19 Feb. 2013. http://www.globalforestcoalition.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/Report-Getting-to-the-roots1.pdf.
Hamilton, Jon. "Water Plentiful, But Contaminated in El Salvador." NPR. NPR, 01 Nov. 2005. Web. 19 Feb. 2013. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4983325.
Jha, Alok. "Google Unveils Breakthrough Technology to Monitor Deforestation." The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 10 Dec. 2009. Web. 19 Feb. 2013.
Maggiora, Carlos D., and Juan A. Lopez-Silva. "Vulnerability to Air Pollution in Latin America and the Caribbean Region." The World Bank. The World Bank Latin America and the Caribbean Region Environmentally and Socially Sustainable Development Department, Sept. 2006. Web. 19 Feb. 2013. http://irispublic.worldbank.org/85257559006C22E9/All+Documents/85257559006C22E9852572810068B623/$File/LAST0FINAL0VERSION1AirQuality1SDWP.pdf.
Navarro, Ricardo. "Environment and Social Justice in El Salvador." Green Left Weekly. Green Left Organization, 14 July 1993. Web. 20 Feb. 2013.
Soto, Suzanne. "Tiny El Salvador Needs Mining but Worries about Water Contamination." Mining.com. Si! Corporate Communications, 29 May 2012. Web. 19 Feb. 2013. http://www.mining.com/tiny-el-salvador-needs-mining-but-worries-about-water-contamination/.
Taylor, Jerome. "El Salvador Flood Disaster Worsened by Deforestation." The Independent. Independent Digital News and Media, 5 Oct. 2005. Web. 20 Feb. 2013.