How fast will Iguazu fall? Written and Photographed by Golden Noble-Harris
Certainly South America's most popular gravity-induced water
feature, Iguazu falls is an epic sight that awes thousands of
tourists daily, spilling in from Argentinian, Brazilian and Paraguayan
soils. The diversity of plant life and animal species existing
in this humid jungle environment is also a great draw card for
tourists, and tiny towns like Argentina's Puerto Iguazu happily
house this transient population, reaping the profits of through
accomodation, food and shopping. Although they recieve no direct
cut from the government for profits made by the privatized National
Park, the general population of this 60,000 person town seems
relatively content with the way things flow regarding the falls
and the tourists who seek them. For now.
But what of the future? And what of the preservation of this
delicate environment? Just in the Christmas week of 2007, the
park recieved 25 000 visitors. The question is, who is cleaning
up after them?
Puerto Iguazu's Town Municipality spokesperson Mr Geronimo said
that only four years ago, the town population was half of what
it is now. Peter Pan Hostel Manager, Ms Mariella, said that five
years ago, there were only five hostels. Now the mushrooming amount
pushes 30 and continues to grow. The municipality also said that,
according to town plans and contracts with large hotel chains
including the Hilton, the town population will reach 12 000 by
2010, giving birth to a 100% larger town in both population and
area. ''The biggest problems for this rapid development in the
town will be the infrastucture'', said Mr Geronimo, spokesperson
for the Puerto Iguazu Municipality. Mr Geronimo confirmed that
the town still has no recycling systems in place, and that all
the tourists' rubbish is transported out to tips in rural areas.
It would seem evident that as the numbers of both the permanent
and transitory population swell, this linear system cannot be
sustainable. Although the Iguazu Falls park itself collects recyclable
goods which are processed across the border in Brazil, the Argentinian
side continues to struggle with waste management.
Worse still, though Puerto Iguazu has had a sewage treatment
plant since 1991, it has never been used. ''Although we have plans
in place for a new sewage plant to assist with the future town
developments, all pipes currently lead directly to the river'',
said Mr Geronimo. The raw sewage then flows downstream, passing
densely populated citys of Posadas, Rosario, and Buenos Aires,
to name a few. This contaminated water carries with it the potential
risks of diseases such as giardia and cholera. The excess nutrients
in the water also present a constant danger of eutrophication,
in which algal blooms cause oxygen levels to drop and kill off
plant and animal life in the river system.
Hiper Frio shop propiertor Gloria Narni said the water that comes
into the taps is fine, but the water that goes into the river
is horrendous. ''I would never swim in there'', Ms Narni said.
The horrible fact that we face as tourists in these territories,
is that, be it knowingly or unknowingly, we are a direct cause
of this waste pollution. Towns like Puerto Iguazu fight to keep
up with the busloads of tourists flushing through, but lack of
both environmental awareness and government financial support
stand in the way of preserving this area's environment. Everyday
the tourist population rises. Every day, styrofoam trays, plastic
bottles and plastic bags are crushed into antiquated rubbish collection
trucks and transported out of town to landfills. Sewage waste
continues to flow directly into the river just downstream from
the beautiful Iguazu falls. ''We hope that the future sewage plant
will also encompass the older parts of the town's waste, but nothing
is certain'', said Mr Geronimo. Certainly tourists should know
about this.
Golden is an avid
traveler, and has been working her way around the world after
finishing an undergraduate Journalism Languages degree in
2005. After working in the Mediterranean yachting industry
for two years, she rekindled her close friendship with the
trusty old backpack. She is currently traveling through the
Americas, soaking up the beauty, mayhem and madness across
the southern continent, and finally learning to surf. An Aussie
just isn’t an Aussie without severe sunburn and a board!
