VZCZCXYZ0000
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHLP #3337/01 3422023
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 082023Z DEC 06
FM AMEMBASSY LA PAZ
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1607
INFO RUEHAC/AMEMBASSY ASUNCION 6373
RUEHBO/AMEMBASSY BOGOTA 3697
RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA 7567
RUEHBU/AMEMBASSY BUENOS AIRES 4817
RUEHCV/AMEMBASSY CARACAS 2069
RUEHPE/AMEMBASSY LIMA 2142
RUEHME/AMEMBASSY MEXICO 1963
RUEHMN/AMEMBASSY MONTEVIDEO 4267
RUEHQT/AMEMBASSY QUITO 4706
RUEHSG/AMEMBASSY SANTIAGO 9291
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHINGTON DC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHINGTON DC

UNCLAS LA PAZ 003337 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR WHA/AND LPETRONI 
BRASILIA FOR JSTORY AND LSTONER 
USAID/LAC FOR AFRANCO, MSILVERMAN, RLOUDIS, AND JBISSON 
USAID/EGAT FOR CJACKSON, ANE FOR JWILSON 
COMMERCE FOR JANGLIN 
TREASURY FOR SGOOCH 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON PREL PGOV BL
SUBJECT: COMMUNITIES DEMAND CLEAN-UP OF LAKE TITICACA 
 
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SUMMARY 
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¶1. (U) Since May 2005, communities on Lake Titicaca have 
demanded that the GOB reduce the lake's increasing 
contamination.  Human activity has negatively affected plant 
and animal species and threatened the lake's fragile 
ecosystem.  GOB officials say the Morales administration is 
committed to reducing pollution, but the government has few 
plans and lacks the technical and financial resources needed 
to mount a concerted clean-up.  End summary. 
 
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COMMUNITIES DEMAND ACTION 
------------------------- 
 
¶2. (U) Since May 2005, when eleven local leaders organized 
public protests, communities on Lake Titicaca have demanded 
that the GOB reduce the lake's increasing contamination. 
Community leaders have repeatedly denounced the lake's 
deteriorating water quality and asked the government to 
commit money and resources to comprehensive pollution control 
efforts, complaining of widespread damage to fisheries, 
croplands, and livestock; many fear that uncontrolled 
contamination will devastate incomes and traditional ways of 
life, particularly in a region where agriculture and cattle 
ranching are the principal economic activities. 
 
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HUMAN IMPACTS ON WATER RESOURCES 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶3. (U) According to a case study published in the 2003 UN 
World Water Development Report, human activity has negatively 
affected plant and animal species and threatened Lake 
Titicaca's fragile ecosystem.  Untreated or partially treated 
human and industrial waste from El Alto, a city of 
approximately 800,000 residents on the plains above La Paz, 
contaminates rivers that drain into the lake, creating 
special problems for the plants and animals of Cohana Bay. 
The nutrient-rich wastewater promotes eutrophication, or the 
excessive growth of aquatic plants, which deprives fish and 
other marine life of oxygen.  This phenomenon, together with 
declining quantities of totora reeds, which help filter water 
impurities and are used to build boats and furnish cattle 
fodder, has upset the balance of plant and animal life in the 
bay.  Untreated waste from smaller towns and villages 
exacerbates the problem, as do runoff and heavy metal 
contamination from cattle ranching and nearby ore processing 
facilities and mines. 
 
¶4. (U) Other human activities, such as the introduction of 
non-native fish species, reliance on pollution-prone trout 
farming, severe overfishing, poorly planned dam construction, 
and uncontrolled water use, also threaten Lake Titicaca's 
ecosystem.  Local residents introduced high-value non-native 
fish species such as trout and mackerel into the lake in the 
early 1930s; since then, populations of native species such 
as karachi and boga have declined dramatically, and many are 
now considered vulnerable or endangered.  Trout farms 
constructed on the lake's southern shore have released tons 
of waste into the water, while increases in the number of 
people making a living from fishing have raised pressure on 
fish populations.  Dams built to prevent or minimize flooding 
have altered the lake's water levels and flow patterns and 
submerged once productive croplands, and uncontrolled water 
use has threatened to drain the shallows in totora reed 
areas.  Together with untreated sewage and livestock and 
mining runoff, these present additional problems for 
scientists and local communities hoping to protect the lake 
and its resources. 
 
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COMMENT 
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¶5. (SBU) GOB officials say the Morales administration is 
committed to reducing Lake Titicaca's pollution, but the 
government has few plans and lacks the technical and 
financial resources needed to mount a concerted clean-up. 
Bolivia's joint ownership of the lake with Peru complicates 
matters, as officials disagree over what should be done and 
who should pay.  In the absence of stronger coordination and 
more funding, local communities' persistent demands for 
action will likely remain unanswered, at least for now. 
URS