Chapter 27: Central and South America
Changes in weather and climatic patterns are negatively affecting human health in CA and SA, by increasing morbidity, mortality, and disabilities (high confidence), and through the emergence of diseases in previously non-endemic areas (high confidence). With very high confidence, climate-related drivers are associated with respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, vector- and water-borne diseases (malaria, dengue, yellow fever, leishmaniasis, cholera, and other diarrheal diseases), hantaviruses and rotaviruses, chronic kidney diseases, and psychological trauma. Air pollution is associated with pregnancy-related outcomes and diabetes, among others. {27.3.7.1} Vulnerabilities vary with geography, age, gender, race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status, and are rising in large cities (very high confidence). {27.3.7.2} Climate change will exacerbate current and future risks to health, given the region’s population growth rates and vulnerabilities in existing health, water, sanitation and waste collection systems, nutrition, pollution, and food production in poor regions (medium confidence).
FAQ 27.2: Can payment for ecosystem services be used as an effective way to help local communities adapt to climate change?
Ecosystems provide a wide range of basic services, such as providing breathable air, drinkable water, and moderating flood risk (very high confidence). Assigning values to these services and designing conservation agreements based on these (broadly known as payment for ecosystem services, or PES) can be an effective way to help local communities adapt to climate change. It can simultaneously help protect natural areas and improve livelihoods and human wellbeing (medium confidence). However, during design and planning, a number of factors need to be taken into consideration at the local level to avoid potentially negative results. Problems can arise if (1) the plan sets poor definitions about whether the program should focus just on actions to be taken or the end result of those actions, (2) many perceive the initiative as commoditization of nature and its intangible values, (3) the action is inefficient to reduce poverty, (4) difficulties emerge in building trust between various stakeholders involved in agreements, and (5) there are eventual gender or land tenure issues.
FAQ 27.3 | Are there emerging and reemerging human diseases as a consequence of climate variability and change in the region?
Human health impacts have been exacerbated by variations and changes in climate extremes. Climate-related diseases have appeared in previously non-endemic regions (e.g., malaria in the Andes, dengue in CA and southern SA) (high confidence). Climate variability and air pollution have also contributed to increase the incidence of respiratory and cardiovascular, vector- and water-borne and chronic kidney diseases, hantaviruses and rotaviruses, pregnancy-related outcomes, and psychological trauma (very high confidence). Health vulnerabilities vary with geography, age, gender, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status, and are rising in large cities. Without adaptation measures (e.g., extending basic public health services), climate change will exacerbate future health risks, owing to population growth rates and existing vulnerabilities in health, water, sanitation and waste collection systems, nutrition, pollution, and food production in poor regions (medium confidence).
27.3
Multiple factors increase the region’s vulnerability to climate change: precarious health systems; malnutrition; inadequate water and sanitation services; poor waste collection and treatment systems; air, soil, and water pollution; lack of social participation; and inadequate governance (Luber and Prudent, 2009; Rodríguez-Morales, 2011; Sverdlik, 2011). Human health vulnerabilities in the region depend on geography, age (Perera, 2008; Martiello and Giacchi, 2010;Åstrom et al., 2011; Graham et al., 2011), gender (de Oliveira et al., 2011), race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status (Diez Roux et al., 2007; Martiello and Giacchi, 2010). Neglected tropical diseases in LA cause 1.5 to 5.0 million disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) (Hotez et al., 2008)
27.6.2. Payment for Ecosystem Service
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Other setbacks to PES schemes might include cases where there is a perception of commoditization of nature and its intangible values (e.g., Bolivia, Cuba, Ecuador, and Venezuela); other cases where mechanisms are inefficient to reduce poverty; and slowness to build trust between buyers and sellers, as well as gender and land tenure issues that might arise (Asquith et al., 2008; Peterson et al., 2010; Balvanera et al., 2012; van Noordwijk et al., 2012). Table 27-7 lists select examples of PES schemes in Latin America,with a more complete and detailed list given in Balvanera et al. (2012)
27.8 Conclusions
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Changesin weather and climatic patterns are negatively affecting human health in CA and SA, by increasing morbidity, mortality, and disabilities, and through the emergence of diseases in previously non-endemic regions. Multiple factors increase the region’s vulnerability to climate change: precarious health systems; malnutrition; inadequate water and sanitation services; population growth; poor waste collection and treatment systems; air, soil, and water pollution; food in poor regions; lack of social participation; and inadequate governance.Vulnerabilities vary with geography, age, gender, race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status, and are rising in large cities. Climate change and variability may exacerbate current and future risks to health.
