DROUGHT IN THE AMAZON RIVER BASINThink about how drought (continuous dry weather) could affect where and how people live. A basin is the area drained by a river. The Amazon River basin, in South America, is generally hot and wet with a lot of annual rainfall. However, rainfall has decreased since the mid-1980s. As a result, there has been less natural flooding, and there have been more water shortages.

One severe drought in the Amazon happened in 2005 (Figure 2.2), and drought returned in 2010. The effects of the 2005 drought were still visible in the Amazon River basin at the time of the 2010 drought. Some effects of the 2005 drought were a smaller leaf canopy, fewer trees, and a large drop in the river level, especially in the western Amazon.

Drought also leads to less water and more fires, meaning more trees die during each drought. Damaged trees are not growing back, even during wetter years. Geographers and others studying drought in the Amazon are not sure whether the drought is a temporary change or an example of climate change.

If you could live anywhere in the world, where would you live? How would you decide where to live? What factors are important to you? Would you base your decision on the natural resources in an area or the climate? Climate refers to the average weather of an area over time. No matter where you decided to live, physical processes, or natural changes to the physical environment, such as landslides and volcanoes, would affect you.

Living in Canada, you know how the climate impacts you. Extremely cold Canadian winters can cause water pipes to freeze and burst. Ice storms can knock down trees and branches, sometimes cutting electric power (Figure 2.1). During the hot summer, your family may use lots of energy to cool your home. Canada’s climate has a huge impact on your life.

In this chapter, you will learn how various physical processes affect where and how people live. You will also learn how these physical processes are expected to change as a result of climate change, or changes in long-term weather patterns.

WHY CARE ABOUT

SETTLEMENTS AND THE ENVIRONMENT?

climate the average weather of an area over a long period of time

physical process any naturally occurring change on or in Earth, such as an earthquake

climate change changes in long-term weather patterns caused by natural events and human activity

I wonder how many people were put at risk during this storm?

FIGURE 2.1 During an ice storm in Ontario in December 2013, falling trees and branches damaged many homes and broke hydro lines. The ice was too heavy in some places for the trees to support it.

FIGURE 2.2 Much of the Amazon River basin shown here in October 2005 should not have been this dry. The light-toned areas show dryness.

I wonder why there are no settlements in this area?

46 UNIT 1: Global Settlement: Patterns and Sustainability CHAPTER 2: Settlements and the Environment 47NEL NEL

HEROES IN ACTION

REDD PROGRAM IN TOLO RIVER: HELPING TO PROTECT THE RAINFOREST

Carbon dioxide (CO2) is a greenhouse gas

that contributes to global warming, which

leads to climate change. Trees absorb and

store CO2. Trees also release water into

the atmosphere through their leaves. This

process contributes to rainfall through the

water cycle. So, when trees in an area are cut

down, less CO2 is stored,

and the area receives less

rain, leading to drought.

Each year, about

13 million ha (hectares) of

forest around the world

are lost to deforestation,

which includes human

tree destruction and natural causes

such as disease. We lose enough trees

to fill the area of 36 football fields every

minute. To reduce deforestation, the

United Nations created a program called

Reducing Emissions from Deforestation

and Forest Degradation in Developing

Countries (REDD). (Degradation means a

reduction in quality.) REDD partners with

communities to help them create jobs by

protecting their forest ecosystems.

As part of REDD, people in the

Tolo River community in northern

Colombia are paid to protect their

rainforest. For example, they help to

stop people from cutting down trees.

The rainforest in this area covers about

13 000 ha. By not cutting down the

rainforest, the community

reduces CO2 emissions

by 100 000 t (tonnes)

every year.

Youth in Tolo River are

now employed by REDD

as rangers. They monitor

the rainforest to ensure

that no one is illegally cutting down

trees (Figure 2.3). The rest of the money

earned from the program goes into a

community fund that supports healthcare

and education. The fund also provides

small loans to members of the community

to help them start small businesses. The

people now feel empowered to protect

their rainforest as a source of income.

This is a step toward preventing drought

and slowing climate change.

A CALL TO ACTION 1. Preventing deforestation is an

important way to help slow climate

change. Work with a classmate to

come up with a way to creatively

educate your peers about

deforestation.

2. The action taken by the community of

Tolo River was inspired by threats to

their natural environment. What issues

in your natural environment could

inspire you, and other people in your

community, to take action? Why?

IMPACT ON SETTLEMENTSHow are the Amazon droughts affecting the people who live there? Communities depend on the flooding for crops and water use in their homes. People have started to move out of settlements near the river to urban areas to escape the effects of drought. The river level is sometimes so low that fishing boats can become stranded (Figure 2.4). As the river becomes shallower, navigation routes change. Farmers’ crops suffer, and pipes needed to deliver water for irrigation and settlement uses need to be extended. With climate change, conditions may worsen and drought could become the normal pattern.

Drought in the Amazon River basin is just one example of a changing environment that has the potential to affect settlements. You will learn more about how physical processes affect settlements in the next topic.

1. SPATIAL SIGNIFICANCE How would the problems

created by an ice storm, like the one shown in

Figure 2.1, differ for people living in a rural area

compared with an urban area?

2. GEOGRAPHIC PERSPECTIVE Explain how people

living in the Amazon River basin, such as the

owners of the boats in Figure 2.4, might have

described the 2005 drought.

3. EVALUATE AND DRAW CONCLUSIONS If the Amazon

droughts are a result of climate change, how

might this affect future settlement and

development?

4. COMMUNICATE Create a flow chart or another

graphic organizer to summarize how drought

might affect migration to cities in the

Amazon River basin.

CHECK-IN

FIGURE 2.4 Boats are stranded in the Amazon River basin due to drought and low river levels.

FIGURE 2.3 Four rangers in northern Colombia monitor their rainforest to ensure that no one is illegally cutting down trees.

If people depend on the river for transportation, I wonder what they do during a drought?

What are the interrelationships

between drought and people’s livelihoods?

“WE CAN PROTECT OUR TERRITORY, MAINTAIN PEACE,

IMPROVE OUR LIVES.”

CHAPTER 2: Settlements and the Environment 49NEL48 UNIT 1: Global Settlement: Patterns and Sustainability NEL