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Water Precious in El Salvador


By: Cecelia Lee

This photo was taken in 2013 in Metapan, an area of El Salvador, a densely populated Central American country. This lagoon and other bodies of water are vital to the survival of the people there. They fish for food and use the water for irrigation of crops. Water is under constant threat from mining which wastes and pollutes it, either in El Salvador or across the border in Guatemala. In this case, industrial pollution is the problem. The sediment from a cement plant has given a foothold to the invasive lilies (all the green in the photo) which is gradually choking off the water. The people here were trying to eradicate these plants, hacking away with machetes in what seemed a very daunting task. If the vegetation continues it will eliminate the water, taking over the whole site, no more water for irrigation or fishing. This creates a dire situation for the local people. It makes me think of how valuable our natural resources are and how the greed of “development” wreaks havoc in the lives of people wherever it occurs.

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