It stinks at Lake Titicaca.

And has been for quite some time.

The causes are obvious: the largest freshwater lake in South America, with an area of ​​over 8,000 square kilometers in the Andean highlands between Bolivia and Peru, is suffering from population pressure.

The cities in its catchment area, including Puno and Juliaca in Peru and El Alto in Bolivia, have grown rapidly.

Tjerk Bruhwiller

Correspondent for Latin America based in São Paulo.

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A large part of the sewage from these cities flows untreated into the huge lake.

It is two and a half cubic meters per second.

There are also residues from agriculture and illegal mining in the region, which is home to thousands of mines.

Many species of fish have already disappeared, threatening the livelihoods of shore residents and the Uru indigenous people who fish for a living.

At the same time, the lake is also an important drinking water reservoir for the region.

Scientists and activists have been sounding the alarm for years.

In the past, the governments of the two countries have repeatedly promised measures such as the construction of sewage treatment plants and restrictions on mining activity.

But little has happened.

The condition of the water body has not improved significantly.

The biologist Dr.

Thomas Schaefer, who heads the areas of nature conservation and the global lake network Living Lakes, which she coordinates at the international environmental foundation Global Nature Fund, speaks of “an imminent ecological catastrophe”.

The lack of rain exacerbates the problem

The importance of the body of water for the people who live with and from it and its ecological exploitation are in a “particularly striking disproportion”.

Today, on World Wetlands Day, the Global Nature Fund and Living Lakes have awarded Lake Titicaca the sad title of Endangered Lake of the Year, which it had already received in 2012.

Together with local partners, the environmental foundation is committed to raising awareness among the population and the authorities in Peru and Bolivia in order to initiate measures to protect the lake.

But it's not just the sewage that threatens Lake Titicaca.

As a result of the lack of rain in the Andean highlands, the level of the lake has dropped by 97 centimeters in recent months, as reported by the National Service for Meteorology and Hydrology of Bolivia (Senamhi) on Tuesday.

In various localities, the receding has drained harbor docks, which are normally used for embarking boats.

In addition, the decline in the level of the highest navigable lake in the world has a direct impact on the aquatic fauna and the bird populations around this lake.

The region has been hit by droughts in recent years, which have affected the level of Lake Titicaca.

However, the current decline is one of the most extreme since measurements began in 1981. Scientists in Bolivia and Peru attribute the drought in the Andean highlands to global warming and climate change.

From drug smuggling to frog trafficking

A completely different threat cannot be seen or smelled: organized crime.

The lake and the region have long been overshadowed by various criminal activities ranging from drug smuggling to frog trafficking.

According to research by the Bolivian newspaper El Deber, various illegal docks around the lake serve as hubs for the smuggling of cocaine and coca base paste.

In the municipality of Desaguadero, for example, small consignments of cocaine weighing up to 30 kilograms were confiscated several times last year.

The drugs and raw materials are smuggled from Peru to Bolivia, where they fetch a higher price.

Food is also smuggled from Peru to Bolivia, while fuel of all kinds flows illegally the other way.

Also known is the presence of local human smuggling rings, which mostly smuggle underage women from Bolivia to Peru, where they are often taken to illegal mines for sexual exploitation.

A unique phenomenon is the trade in the so-called Titicaca giant frog, a species that is on the endangered species list and protected by law in Peru.

However, according to local media reports, the frog is used throughout Peru to prepare broths, concoctions and extracts due to its medicinal properties.

Last May, a truck carrying 1,750 giant frogs packed in wooden crates was confiscated in Peru on its way to Lima.

The fish populations in Lake Titicaca are not only endangered by pollution.

Fishermen ignore seasonal fishing bans to exploit the steadily declining stocks.

Lake Titicaca, considered the cradle of the Inca Empire, is caught in several vicious circles.