Ecobreves – ARGENTINA: Focus on Climate Change

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BUENOS AIRES, Feb 27 2006 (IPS) - Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Uruguay and Paraguay have agreed to draw up a joint program for evaluating the impacts of climate change in the Rio de la Plata basin and preventing potential natural disasters. Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Uruguay and Paraguay have agreed to draw up a joint program for evaluating the impacts of climate change in the Rio de la Plata basin and preventing potential natural disasters.

The Framework Program for Sustainable Management of Hydric Resources was presented Feb. 22 in Buenos Aires by the inter-governmental committee of the countries that share the basin, which covers 3.1 million square km.

“We're estimating that between September and October implementation can begin,” the committee's leader, Marcela Gasparrini, told Tierramérica.

For the program, the representatives from the five countries studied the region's vulnerabilities to a variable climate, with swings between flooding and drought.

These abrupt changes could affect the populations along the rivers, but also have a serious impact on fishing, hydroelectric energy and water transportation.