Poisoned Amazon by Kitty Jenkin, Project Manager Cool Earth

The Amazon has more water than any other river in the world. Along its 4,049 mile length, 500 tributaries feed into it. Every day it produces enough water to meet the needs of New York City for nine years.

And yet, there is a shortage of fresh, safe water. That’s because the Amazon is being poisoned. Chlorine, kerosene, sulphuric acid, mercury and cyanide are all pumped into this gigantic river network from mining and cocaine production.

You wouldn’t want to swim in it and you certainly wouldn’t want to drink it.

Cool Earth’s partner villages in Peru have no choice. Poison comes from upstream and there is nothing that they can do to keep the river water safe.

But there is a simple solution; tap into natural springs.

Cool Earth is working to link all of their partner villages to natural springs. The first village to be given clean water was Cutivireni which was linked to a spring twelve kilometres away, transforming the lives of every villager.

Cesar Bustamante, President of Cutivireni, “Cool Earth’s support for the water supply has made a huge difference. Before we had no water and had to go to the Mamiri River to collect it, which is a great distance and is not clean. Now we have drinking water and it is important for the life of all people.”

The next village in line for safe water is Coveja.

Currently the women have a backbreaking walk of over a mile to gather water from the river. This not only takes them away from tending their families and food gardens but the water is contaminated.

Our plan is to provide a freshwater supply for Coveja’s families that also generates power and oxygenates a new fishpond to provide a source of protein for the village.

By ensuring rainforest protection goes hand in hand with better lives, through simple steps like clean water, schoolbooks and medical outposts, Cool Earth puts a village in the position to be able to turn away the loggers. What’s more, this protected forest forms a shield to make millions of acres of neighbouring forest inaccessible to loggers. Millions of acres of forest saved, all from something as simple as giving clean water.

Gabriela’s Rio Cutivireni