The Effects of Urbanization on Lima, Peru
· The Effects of Civilization
o Civilizations are often built around the types of resources that humans need to survive such as fresh water, local wildlife, natural vegetation, and sometimes coastal access. Each of which can be impacted severely by human activity.
o The industrialization of modern society brought along the expansive need for fossil fuel energy, increased urbanization, and large increases in population densities.
· The Sewage Dilemma
o Increases in population densities are problem with regard to waste products associated with modern living and large populations
o Lima, Peru was developed as a coastal city that is not only dependent on the coast for resources but also the three rivers, Chillón, Rímac, and Lurín, which run through it.
· Water Pollution
o Lima’s rapid and unplanned growth has caused severe environmental degradation, especially of the city’s water
o Rivers that were once used as a fresh water supply for inhabitants for years have now become prime sites for the dumping of much of the waste created by the individuals living in the area.
o Rivers have also fallen victim to the indirect pollution caused by modern agricultural products such as fertilizers and pesticides, as well as run-off from local mining sites.
o The amount of potable water in the city has decreased in recent years and almost none of Lima’s slums have a sewer system.
· Air Pollution
o In August 2006, air pollution in the center of Peru’s capital, Lima, surpassed the international standard established by the American Agency of Environmental Protection (EPA) by 122.1%, informed Peru’s National Statistics and Information Institute (INEI).
o Most residents of Lima consider air pollution the most pressing environmental issue. A recent study estimated that respiratory and heart problems related to airborne particulate matter are responsible for some 6,000 deaths per year.
· The Shantytown Effect
o With the inclusion of automobiles and aging buses, industry contributes significantly to the problem, especially the countless unregulated factories, home industries, and restaurants that abound in Lima’s shantytowns.
o In one shantytown known as Asentamiento humano (Human Settlement) on the northern edge of the city, recyclers use homemade furnaces with oil-drum chimneys to melt lead from discarded car batteries into ingots for sale in the informal economy.
o In July 2005, lead levels exceeding the World Health Organization’s recommended limit were found in the blood of 26 out of 27 children tested in the community.
o Despite the health risks posed to children, shutting these informal businesses is contentious because such action would impact the livelihoods within the community.
o The shantytowns of Lima, Peru are home to nearly half of the 8 million resident of Lima. These places are wrought with filth and violence.
o The homes are typically constructed with cardboard, scraps, dirt, and bamboo. These Pueblos jóvenes (young people) rarely have access to running water or electricity, and what is available is often stolen.
o Over the years, they have seen devastating malaria and cholera epidemics, as well as fatal political violence.
· Improvement Projects
o Peru has made considerable progress in recent years in improving the institutional an legal framework for environmental management. Thus, rules and regulations enacted defining roles in environmental permitting, to strengthen the environmental framework for key industries (mining, energy, forestry) and encouraging better managing of protected natural areas. These measures created the regulatory framework to establish the Ministry of the Environment.
o In November 2008,, the Peruvian Sanitation Convention gathered over 1200 participants from government, the private sector, and civil society to jointly address the issue of sustainable sanitation that will help address a situation where over half of the people lack access to basic sanitation services and more than 70% of waste water is not treated before final disposal.