Farms in Dominican Republic Face More Heat, Less Rain
- iSSUes Vol. 1
- Dec 19, 2019
- 3 min read
Updated: Jan 12, 2020
Water Scarcity Threatens Cooperation Among Neighbors
By Gali Mallol
We are experiencing a global crisis, and our house is on fire. We just experienced the warmest decade on record. It is now only going to get hotter, unless we act now. All parts of the world are suffering from climate change.
Genesis is a freshman at Salem State University from Nagua, Dominican Republic, who has concerns about the future of her homeland. Genesis lived in the Nagua since she was ten years old. She recalls it fondly: “I remember Nagua’s beaches, the trees, and some of the roads were paved and some gravel.” When she lived on the island, electricity was not available 24/7; now some areas of Nagua have electricity 24/7, but some still do not.
Nagua's water source was similar to the electricity, because it was not always available. “Water trucks would come buy and deliver a big gallon of water, and that was like every week. My parent’s would go get the water and bring it to the house.” Some homes were fortunate enough to have a constant water source, but like the electricity sometimes the water in the homes would stop. When there is no water, Dominicans have a giant tub of water, typically outside in the back of houses, that has water stored inside from rainfall. If they wanted with water warm, they would have to heat it on stoves. “This was extremely common when I lived there, now some areas are improving but some remain the same.”
Climate change was not a topic she was aware of until she learned about it here in the U.S. The school systems did not talk or teach about global warming, but she is not sure if they do now. I read to her a quote from the USAID: “In 2017, the Dominican Republic was ranked the 11th most vulnerable country in the world to climate change.” After hearing this, her eyes went wide. “I never knew that, but it makes sense because I do notice it is getting a lot hotter than before. Wow, I don’t even know how to respond,” she admitted honestly.
The seasons in the Dominican Republic are changing drastically due to the climate crisis. There are normally dry seasons and wet seasons with hurricanes. Climate change is throwing these seasons off, Genesis said. “The dry seasons are dryer than before because it is so hot, and they are now longer too. And the rainy seasons are now raining too much, causing flooding to happen.”
Nagua's economy relies on the production of agricultural products like rice, coconuts, and cocoa bean. The changing seasons affect the way crops are growing. “When it’s too hot, the food won’t grow, and when it rains too much, the fields become flooded, so it all goes bad.” The droughts promote pests and insects, and crop diseases. Extreme weather events that produce floods lead to soil erosion and waterlogged fields. The flooding is not only affecting the crops, but whether people are getting water.
“When the streets are flooded, the trucks can’t drive to make the deliveries, so if people needed water they would have to go out and get it,” Genesis explained. "Sometimes people would not have water for a few days because of floods and storms. Sometimes the water trucks just would not come by." I asked her if people shared water with their neighbors; the answer was heartbreaking. “People could ask their neighbors but no one did, because everyone was in the same situation. It’s like taking water away from a family for your own.” People become territorial with their crops and water because the supply is limited.
Dominican Republic has installed new policies and started projects to prevent climate change from affecting them, but they have only integrated these policies to a select few locations. Genesis explained the unfortunate reality: “The government is corrupt; they only care about money and they are taking money away from the people.” The government has chosen to only implement these policies and projects incorporate/government areas and tourist areas, because that is where they make the most money. The projects have made significant improvements, but there are still no plans on expanding these projects to the whole island. “I think DR could reach their goal of improving if they worked as a whole, but like I said, they are only thinking about what will benefit them," she said. "The rich and higher up people aren’t helping the poorer people and their regions; if they were to come together there would be change, but they are just selfish. It’s a messed up system.”
Genesis compared the government of Dominican Republic to the United States government saying, “DR’s government isn’t helping their people, and the US isn’t either, because they aren’t passing laws to prevent climate change. They only care about themselves and what they want.”
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