Cape Verde: Island paradise with a dark side | DW Documentary

Key Concepts

Cape Verde, climate change, water scarcity, tourism, environmental impact, overfishing, desalination, waste management, sea turtle conservation, sand extraction, economic disparity.

Cape Verde: An Overview

Cape Verde, an archipelago of 10 islands located 600 kilometers off the coast of mainland Africa, is a former Portuguese colony that gained independence in 1975. Despite its name translating to "green cape," much of the country is arid and faces significant challenges due to climate change.

Water Scarcity and its Impact

The Problem

The primary issue facing Cape Verde is water scarcity, exacerbated by a lack of rainfall. This scarcity affects various aspects of life, from agriculture to daily household needs.

Examples

• The Pulao Dam, once intended to irrigate an entire valley, has dried up due to years of insufficient rain.
• In the village of Montenegro, families rely on a single fountain managed by Martha, who rations water based on availability. Each 25-liter container costs eight escudos (€0.07).
• The fountain frequently breaks down, leaving families without water.
• Pral Gonzaleves' family, like 40% of rural families, lacks running water and struggles to provide for their livestock. He lost cows between 2018 and 2020 due to drought.

Urban Water Crisis

In Praia, the capital city, water vendors like Domingos have emerged to address the water shortage. Domingos sells 1,000 liters of water for €7, sourced from a well owned by a civil servant named Geette. Geette's well provides a significant income supplement, although she declines to disclose the exact amount.

Tourism: Economic Driver and Environmental Threat

Economic Importance

Tourism accounts for 25% of Cape Verde's GDP, with approximately one million visitors arriving annually through four international airports.

Environmental Impact

• Mass Tourism: The all-inclusive model in large hotels encourages excessive consumption of resources.
• Turtle Taming: Fishermen like Florentino have pivoted to attracting turtles with fish for tourist viewing, altering the turtles' migration patterns and diet. Tourists pay €20 to see the turtles.
• Shark Bay: Tourists visit Shark Bay to see lemon sharks, with guides using fish to attract them. Project Biodiversity, an NGO, is studying the impact of this practice on shark behavior.

Hotel Practices

• Hotels like Ryu import most of their food (chicken from the US, beef from South America, fish from Vietnam/Brazil/Portugal/Spain) to minimize costs, offering all-inclusive packages.
• Ryu spends €12,000 monthly on water for coconut trees and swimming pools.
• Tour guide Anderson notes that the money spent at all-inclusive resorts "stays there," with minimal benefit to the local economy.

Sand Extraction: A Risky Livelihood

Illegal Activity

In Ribeira da Barca, women risk their lives extracting sand from the sea to sell to the construction industry.

Dangers

• The work is dangerous, with risks of drowning and injuries.
• Sallet, a 32-year-old mother of two, has been doing this her entire life.
• Women carry about 50 kilograms of sand on their heads per trip, earning only €20 for two weeks of work.

Economic Disparity

The extracted sand is sold to a concrete block company, which makes €10,000 per month, while the women earn very little. Clet, another sand extractor, struggles to afford her son's school bus fare (€30/month).

Desalination: A Partial Solution with Drawbacks

Government Initiative

The government has invested in desalination plants to address water scarcity.

Process

The Electra Group manages eight desalination plants, extracting water from 50 meters below sea level. The process involves filtering seawater to remove sand and salt, discharging brine back into the sea.

Environmental Concerns

• Brine discharge is three to four times saltier than seawater, harming marine life.
• The plants are powered by diesel, consuming 52,000 liters daily and releasing significant CO2 emissions.
• Desalinated water is the most expensive in the country, making it unaffordable for many.

Waste Management and Pollution

Waste Accumulation

Cape Verde faces a significant waste problem, with plastics from around the world washing up on its shores.

Impact on Wildlife

Sea turtles are particularly vulnerable, often getting entangled in plastic.

Santa Lucia: A Case Study

• The uninhabited island of Santa Lucia is a nature reserve and a major garbage dump.
• Biosphira, an environmental association, organizes annual cleanups, removing about 60 tons of plastic and fishing nets.
• Volunteers find various items, including medicine from Asia, detergents from South Korea and Morocco, and a telecommunications cable.
• Leila, the coordinator, notes that even with their efforts, the problem will persist for decades.

Conclusion

Cape Verde faces a complex interplay of environmental and socioeconomic challenges. Water scarcity, driven by climate change, is exacerbated by unsustainable tourism practices, illegal sand extraction, and the environmental impact of desalination. Waste management is a significant issue, threatening marine life. While tourism is a crucial economic driver, its benefits are not evenly distributed, leading to economic disparities. Despite these challenges, conservation efforts, such as those by Biosphira, offer hope for protecting the country's natural resources and biodiversity.