Dried up Rio Negro leaves houseboats on the bottom
Nobody knows for sure what the exact reason is, but one thing is very clear: hundreds of houseboats are laying helpless on the bottom of the Rio Negro in Brazil. This is just one of the devastating results of one of the worlds most important rivers drying up. The social, logistical and economical consequences are gigantic, not to mention the impact on the food supply of millions people living in the Amazone.
Click here to see amazing photo's of houseboats on the bottom of the dried up Rio Negro.
Termed one of the biggest environmental disasters the world has ever known, the houseboats of Manaus are so much more than just boats grounded, destroyed and sitting idly on land. A popular vacation area, the Manaus houseboat tour is one of the most adventurous tours along the Amazon river. It is visited by millions around the world. What they are witnessing today, however, is like nothing that has ever been seen before. Over millions of freshwater fish dead, they are not the only casualties. Many of the inhabitants who used the water for their livelihood are having a hard time finding a new way to live.
It's hard to believe but all these boats are currently laying on the bottom of the dried up Rio Negro in Brazil. (Photo: http://www.oceansart.us/)
Source of food and transportation
With no drinking water, or ways to live off the abundance of the marine, the natives are finding themselves not staying adrift. Unable to find comfort in the rich bed of river ways, or on the dry land that holds nothing for them to feed their families or make a living, things are getting dire. It is estimated that over 20 million inhabitants of the area survive exclusively on the fish caught around them. Without the ability to catch their food, or to distribute it to the surrounding areas; humanitarian crisis has begun.
The ecological impact of the Rio Negro falling dry is enormous. (Photo: http://www.oceansart.us/)
Reason for draught unclear
An isolated region untouched by the hands of modernization, many villages in the Amazon are now completely cut off from the rest of the world. The fear is that the lack of oxygen that is a result of the current conditions, will only further make living in the Amazon waterways that much more unrealistic. Why the drought conditions have become so perilous is unsure. Whether a condition of weather patterns or a symptom of what others believe to be global warming, is driving the destitute nature of the Amazon is unclear. What is clear is that it is quickly becoming a humanitarian crisis that must be addressed and remedied in any way possible.
If you would like more information about how to help save not only the people of the Amazon but the fragility of marine-life on the Amazon, go to http://usafishbox.forumotion.com/t5497-the-greatest-amazon-river-disaster-in-history