Climate Change and Freshwater in Latin America and the Caribbean

Many of us are familiar with the story of the “Cochabamba Water War”, a rebellion of Bolivians against water privatization that was further immortalized in the 2010 film “También la lluvia.” Unfortunately, there are still many issues with water rights in the LAC area, and many LAC areas have been experiencing climate change-related water crises recently.

The UN Chronicle has a piece focusing on freshwater crises in the area, found here. The World Bank has a piece called, “Water matters: It’s time for action in Latin America and the Caribbean” found here. The University of Maryland focuses on Caribbean-specific issues here. Finally, suggested case studies include Mexico’s constitutional right to water versus contemporary water issues, and the impact of climate change in Puerto Rico: discussing potable water access, rising sea levels, and increasingly impactful storms.