Persistent Drought Threatens Way of Life for Amazon Basin's 'Ribeirinhos'

TaiwanPlus News

Falling water levels in the Amazon basin in Brazil are threatening the livelihoods of the local people who live by and make their living from the river, especially those who are older or who have disabilities.

Transcript

00:00Dry land in the middle of the Amazon, the largest river basin in the world.

00:05A record drought and lower rainfall in the past months have caused river levels to drop,

00:10cutting off most transport links and trade.

00:13This situation has left the local people, known as liberinhos,

00:16who make their livelihood from fishing in the rivers and travel by motorboat,

00:20high and dry, especially those who are older and have disabilities.

00:25We are all elderly, some of us are disabled.

00:29We can't carry water here on the beach.

00:33But no one else helps us here, only God and them.

00:38Residents scramble to fill up these water containers,

00:41as they now rely on outside sources for drinking water.

00:45Some local community members have volunteered to bring water

00:48to those who cannot travel long distances.

00:51The beach is about 800 meters away.

00:55Now imagine a person in the hot sun,

00:58hypertensive, making this journey, it's very difficult.

01:03So that's why we see this need and we mobilize.

01:07A shop located closer to the water is also jumping in

01:10to help the community get through this tough time.

01:13Without water, no one lives. There is no way.

01:16That's what I have to tell you.

01:18You can get water at night and during the day, but I don't drink it.

01:22I pay for water, but I don't drink anything hot.

01:28But besides drinking water, another challenge for the Liberians

01:32is how to get their catches to the market.

01:35We made a cart to drive a little,

01:38because my wife has an arm disability

01:41and I have a problem with my legs.

01:43I can't stand carrying a lot.

01:45They are here to help,

01:47but it's a little difficult to take our production to the city.

01:51The Brazilian Geological Service has warned it expects

01:54all rivers in the Amazon basin to drop below historical levels.

01:58That means it could be some time before the Liberianos

02:01can get back to their normal daily lives.

02:03Scott Huang in Arlinglen for Taiwan Plus.

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