The Stream, November 30: Shifting Rainfall Patterns Linked to Migrations

Seasonal migrations of poor, rural communities due to shifting rainfall patterns, droughts and floods are increasing, according to a new study by CARE International and the United Nations University, AlertNet reported. The study warns that the migrations could become more frequent and permanent unless action is taken to mitigate climate change or adjust agriculture to new climatic conditions.

Plaintiffs from Ecuador asked a Canadian court yesterday to seize Chevron Corp.’s assets in the country as part of an effort to collect the $US 19 billion in environmental damages awarded to them by an Ecuador court ruling last year, Bloomberg News reported. The damages are meant to compensate communities in the Amazon, where a company acquired by Chevron in 2001 released wastewater that caused water and soil pollution, but Chevron insists the ruling was corrupt and fraudulent.

The cholera epidemic in Haiti, which has infected about 6 percent of the population and killed more than 7,500 people, is being increasingly linked to UN peacekeepers present in 2010. As a result, the country is asking the international community for $US 2 billion to contain the outbreak and eventually eradicate the disease, the Guardian reported.

In an effort to stop grassland erosion and keep the Yellow River from drying up, China has resettled more than 737,000 ethnic Tibetan nomads and their herds from areas around the river’s headwaters, Xinhua reported. Overgrazing has been blamed for contributing to the desertification of the surrounding prairies.

In a major setback to democratic reforms, riot police in Burma attacked protesters with teargas, water cannons and incendiaries, the Guardian reported. The protesters were demonstrating against the expansion of a copper mine, which has been accused of producing an outflow of “rust-red waste,” polluting farmland, and causing birth defects.

The Stream is a daily digest spotting global water trends. To get more water news, follow Circle of Blue on Twitter and sign up for our newsletter.

Codi Kozacek

A news correspondent for Circle of Blue based out of Hawaii. She writes The Stream, Circle of Blue’s daily digest of international water news trends. Her interests include food security, ecology and the Great Lakes.
Contact Codi Kozacek