By: Lizbeth Siria
Paraguay
Paraguay is a country located in South America and it is sometimes referred to as Corazon de America (“Heart of America”) due to its central location in that continent. It is part of the world’s forty-eight landlocked countries which means that it is surrounded by other countries or land with no ocean in any of its borders. Paraguay is bordered by Bolivia to the northwest, Brazil to the east and northeast, and by Argentina to the south and southwest. Paraguay is still a developing country and it has been for a very long time one of the region’s poorest, least-developed, and most isolated country (About Paraguay). Along with this, Paraguay has very important environmental issues such as toxic waste dumping in its rivers, water pollution, and deforestation.
Toxic waste dumping in rivers became a problem in Paraguay in the late 1980s when toxic wastes started entering Paraguay illegally through a free trade zone in Uruguay. Toxic waste such as fuel oil were being brought into the country to be dumped into its rivers or buried. Such toxic wastes were coming into the country from the United States and Europe. Although there now exist laws against toxic waste dumping it is still occurring in the country (Montero). Some of the toxic wastes that are being dumped in the rivers and streams today contain Mercury and Chromium (Paraguay: Geography). Short-term and long-term exposure to Mercury may cause serious health problems to citizens of Paraguay that depend on the country’s rivers for survival. Some of the short-term effects are sore throats, cough, shortness of breath, chest pain, increase of blood pressure or heart rate, a metallic taste in mouth, eye irritation, headaches, and vision problems. In the other hand long-term effects are even worst for these citizens’ health which are anxiety, excessive shyness, anorexia, sleeping problems, loss of appetite, irritability, fatigue, forgetfulness, tremors, changes in vision, and changes in hearing (Mercury Quick). Chromium also affects people’s health if exposed too. Some effects that are caused to people’s health for such exposure to Chromium are respiratory effects such as asthma, chronic bronchitis, chronic irritation, chronic pharyngitis, chronic rhinitis, and congestion and hyperemia. Skin effects such as dryness, erythema, fissuring, papules, scaling, small vesicles, and swelling are also effects of exposure to Chromium. Other effects to Chromium exposure are carcinogenic, renal, hepatic, gastrointestinal, cardiovascular, hematological, reproductive and developmental, and genotoxic and mutagenic (Chromium Toxicity). This environmental issue is important because it is affecting people’s health as well as contaminating the land.
Toxic waste dumping in rivers has also led to water pollution which affects marine life and its ecosystem. All the oil and gasoline dumping in the country’s rivers has affected the fish’s life span because they are being contaminated by toxic waste that pollutes the water where they live in. This environmental issue is a serious matter because the high rates of fish that are dying leads to the danger of that species being extinct. The mining industry in Paraguay has also contributed to water pollution in the country because “mining exposes heavy metals and sulfur compounds that get leached and absorbed into the ground water and make their way into the nearby water sources. Mines can continue to drain toxic elements into the water supply long after the mining has come to a close” (What Causes). A lot of acres of forest in Paraguay have been lost due to agriculture and the rapid growth of agriculture has led to water pollution as well. “Pesticides are one of the most common causes of water pollution. Pesticides from farms and individual home owners run off into streams and rivers. Then on it gets absorbed into the ground water polluting the water that people drink and causing trouble with the fish in the rivers where the pesticides run off” (What Causes). Citizens also contribute to the water pollution in Paraguay by using their personal products such as hair pray and dye hair products, and perfume. Household cleaning products also contribute to water pollution such as bleach, lotion, and fabric softener. Water pollution is a serious environmental issue because it affects marine life as well as citizens’ health which depend on the rivers’ water to survive (What Causes).
Another Environmental issue Paraguay has is deforestation. “The Paraguayan Chaco is being lost at an average rate of 1,643 acres (665 ha) per day. The extent of the deforestation in the Paraguayan Chaco is equivalent to over 1,500 football pitches a day” (World Land). World Land Trust has used “satellite imagery to measure deforestation in the dry savannah habitat and results revealed that the deforestation rate has already exceeded the devastating 228,000 hectares of irreplaceable habitat that [were] lost in [the year 2008]” (World Land). The lack of funds towards deforestation has also led to the massive loss of acres in the Paraguayan Choco. Although the Chaco does have some large protected areas to prevent deforestation, the very little amount of guards hired to protect the Chaco is not enough to have the thousands of acres protected against deforestation (World Land). During the years 2010 and 2011 at least “1.2 million acres of the Chaco [had] been deforested, according to satellite analyses by Guyra, an environmental group in Asunción, the capital. Ranchers making way for their vast herds of cattle have cleared roughly 10 percent of the Chaco forest in the last five years, Guyra said. That is reflected in surging beef exports” (Romero). Jose Luis Casaccia, a prosecutor and former environment mister, told the New York Times that Paraguay already has the sad distinction of being a deforestation champion and that in in eastern Paraguay thanks to soybean farms little more than 10 percent of the original forests remain. Agriculture has to do a lot with the deforestation problem happening in Paraguay because abundance of farmers at taking forest acres and turning them into farm land leaving the Chaco forest with less territory every year. Farmers give the big excuse that they need more land because there are so many people to feed in the country (Romero). The problem is that if deforestation continues the wild animal life will suffer such as jaguars, wolves, and insects that live in these forests and if their habitat is destroyed will be in danger of extinction.
I chose toxic waste dumping in rivers as the first most important environmental issue in Paraguay because Rivers are the source of survival for many citizens and because of these toxic wastes that are found in rivers they are putting their health at risk for consuming contaminated water. I chose water pollution as my second important environmental issue because water pollution originated from toxic waste dumping in rivers, and this issue does not only affect humans but marine life too because fish are being affected directly since water is their main source of living. If their habitat is polluted, fish in Paraguay’s rivers are at higher risk of being extinct. Deforestation was my third environmental issue because I believe toxic waste and water pollution are more important environmental issues due to the fact that humans as well as animals are exposed to contaminated water and toxic waste that may lead to health problems. Deforestation does affect humans but not to the point where their life might be put in danger.
Information technology (IT) may help in various ways to reduce toxic waste dumping on rivers in Paraguay. “Recycling is becoming more popular when it comes to disposing of hazardous waste. Used oil is a common waste product that is harmful if dumped into a landfill. As such, disposing of it has become difficult. Companies are now recycling used oil into other products such as different grades of oil (10 Effective). This type of IT has a relationship with the toxic waste dumping in Paraguay’s rivers because it will help reduce and probably in the long run eliminate toxic waste dumping in rivers by actually recycling the waste. This will help reduce people’s risk of getting health problems. Another way to help reduce hazardous waste is through emission control. “Congress declared in the Clean Air Act, Title 42 of the US Code, that air pollution prevention is everyone’s responsibility. Abiding by or actually exceeding emission standards is a great way of disposing of hazardous waste since the less you produce the less you will have to dispose of” (10 Effective). If one may only use a limited amount of energy then there would only be less amount of waste to get rid of which will help reduce the dumping of toxic waste in countries such as in Paraguay. Another IT that has a relationship with toxic waste dumping is the calculator that measures how much waste one needs exactly instead of just buying a lot and dumping it later. Home Depot uses a waste calculator so their customers won’t buy too much of a certain waste that they will dump later on. This calculator helps reduce the dumping of waste by actually using what is needed.
Works Cited
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World Land Trust. "Deforestation in Paraguay: Over 1500 Football Pitches Lost a Day in the Chaco." Rainforest and Wildlife Conservation in Action with the World Land Trust. World Land Trust, 30 Nov. 2009. Web. Winter 2013. <http://www.worldlandtrust.org/news/2009/11/deforestation-in-paraguay-over-1500- football-pitches-lost-a-day-in-the-chaco.htm>.