Saint Peter. A hundred indigenous women on Saturday collected rubbish that had accumulated on the shore of the paradisiacal Lake Atitlán in Guatemala, a natural wonder threatened by pollution, in the water and walking along the beach.
The clean-up day is held once a month to preserve the lake, promoted by the Tz’unun Ya’ collective, which brings together women considered the “Guardians of the Lake” in the Tz’utujil Mayan municipality of San Pedro La Laguna, in the west of the country.
“We decided to clean up the lake because there is a lot of trash,” said Maria Gonzalez, 56.
Gonzalez, who was wearing colorful indigenous clothing, waded into the water to collect plastic waste, cans, glass bottles and even clothes, which he put in a bag.
“We should not complain about all the rubbish on the beach” of the lake, insisted the indigenous woman after calling for more people to join the initiative.
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Meanwhile, groups of women spread out to other points along the lake shore to pick up rubbish left behind mainly by tourists visiting towns on the lake shore.
Around twenty members of the fire department’s diving unit also took part in the clean-up, extracting tires and iron parts from the bottom of the lake, explained Nancy González, who coordinated the activity.
The women’s group was formed 14 years ago and has been speaking out against large industries, accusing them of responsibility for plastic pollution.
“Lake Atitlán is undergoing a process of eutrophication – excessive increase in nutrients, especially nitrogen and phosphorus – accelerated by anthropogenic activities or human activities,” explained the person in charge of the laboratory of the Authority for the Sustainable Management of the Lake Atitlán Basin and its Environment, Flor Barreno.
Barreno said the main causes of pollution in the lake are the use of fertilizers and pesticides used in agriculture and the entry of wastewater, as well as waste such as plastics.
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There are currently 20 treatment plants in operation, but they “do not cover all the wastewater produced within the lake basin,” he added.
Lake Atitlán is one of the main tourist sites in Guatemala and is surrounded by the Atitlán, Tolimán and San Pedro volcanoes. It is located between mountains at an altitude of 1,562 meters with a water surface of 125 square kilometers and a maximum depth of 327 meters.
According to official figures, some 380,000 people live in the basin.
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– 2024-08-04 05:56:49
