Ecuador’s Recent Natural Disasters: A Worrying Indicator of Climate Change
Image courtesy of Kiyoshi on Unsplash
On March 18, 2023, Ecuador was victim to an earthquake that impacted the country’s southern coast. After months of heavy rainfall, Ecuador suffered a large-scale landslide, one covering over 100,000 square meters, only a week later. Citizens residing in the Chimborazo region have shown concern for the formation of fault lines resulting from the rain. A few days prior to the natural disaster, the highway between the towns of Alausí and Gaumote was shut down to oncoming traffic after the discovery of a large crack opening in the road. The resulting landslide left numerous Ecuadorians and entire houses trapped under mud and rocks in the mountains near Alausí. The mud ran down the mountains in the Chimborazo region, leaving over 64 people unaccounted for. While over 30 people have been rescued and hospitalized, seven people were reported dead.
The UN Country Common Assessment reports state that climate change will continue to progress if drastic action is not taken. Ecuador in particular is especially vulnerable to severe natural disasters, including landslides, droughts, floods, and earthquakes. El Niño, a climate pattern characterized by the warming of the eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean, makes floods the most frequent natural disaster in Ecuador. After floods, landslides are the next most common natural disaster in the country. Susceptibility to these threats is increased due to the large majority, 96 percent of Ecuador’s urban population, living near the coast or in mountainous areas. Ecuador is vulnerable because of ineffective government policies combating climate change, political instability, river basin deterioration, farmland expansion, and inadequately constructed infrastructure. It is additionally a result of insufficient land use planning, including Ecuador’s failure to conserve natural habitats and wildlife and to create sustainable methods for agriculture.
Climate extremes are the most prevalent disaster category in Ecuador. The El Niño between 1990 and 1997 has caused $280 million USD worth of damage in Ecuador. This amount is nearly 15 percent of the country’s gross domestic product in 1997. Climate change impacts Ecuador's ability to provide high standards of education, agriculture, transportation, and health. Another effect of climate change is seen through soil erosion which is altering about 48 percent of the country, with some regions such as the Andes impacted up to 70 percent. The November 2009 drought struck 107,500 people, and five thousand families were afflicted by heavy rains, floods and landslides.
These trends imply that the progressing extremity of natural disaster could result in serious environmental and socioeconomic impacts, from crop failure and forest fires to reduced energy security and water supplies. While climate change has affected the population of Ecuador as a whole, it has particularly harsh effects on Ecuadorians in poverty. The communities predicted to be affected the greatest are among Ecuador's coast, the Amazon region, and the Andean region, which are simultaneously where poverty is the highest and indigenous populations are the most prevalent.
The country has joined the UN Convention on Climate Change in hopes of addressing the causes and effects of climate change. Ecuador's current strategy aims to deliver coordinated and comprehensive measures to minimize the impacts of climate change and the high toll it has taken on its population. The measures intend to focus on six main regions by prioritizing those vital for health, food, housing, cattle, agriculture, fishery, and the economy. As the government continues to develop this strategy, they should also aim to specialize the plan to fit each different territory, increase efficiency in land use planning, and improve disaster prevention management plans. It will be vital to continue improving strategies and creating more targeted measures towards protecting indigenous and poor populations as climate change worsens.
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