Climate Change Impacts in Costa Rica

     A major impact going in the Costa Rica and the immediate surrounding area that is affecting climate change is the marine ecosystems. This is a biological impact and scientists are very confident that it is greatly affecting the climate of the region. Some other risks going on in Costa Rica and the rest of Central America are water availability and flood problems, decreased food production and food quality, and the spread of vector-borne diseases. There are, however, some ways that these problems can be solved, or at least attempt to be solved. The water availability and flooding is due to extreme precipitation. This can be bettered by integrating a better water resource management, flood management, and early warning systems, including better weather forecasts in order to be better prepared. The decreased food production can be solved by the developing of new crop varieties that are more adapted to the changing climate. Lastly, the spread of vector-borne diseases can be helped by developing early warning systems to stop the spread of these diseases.

     Some of the most interesting things going on in Central America and the Caribbean are not exactly the trends you would expect. Most people picture this area as a tropical climate, which it is, that has nice rain showers and a steady rain stream. In fact, the interesting thing is that the rain in this region is actually decreasing instead of increasing or even remaining the same. The impact of this decreased rain production can only mean one thing. The climate is changing and either the countries in this region need to adapt to that change, or they are going to feel the consequences of Mother Nature. The map below shows this trend.

This image is from: http://www.climatechange2013.org/images/report/WG1AR5_Chapter14_FINAL.pdf

     Central America and South America are both in for some changes in the near future. To begin with, the annual rainfall, as I mentioned above, is decreasing in Central America, but happens to be increasing in South America. This is causing a slight warming in these areas and causing landslides and flooding in South America due to the slight increase in precipitation. Due to these changes, climate projections are suggesting an increase in temperatures for these two regions and either an increase or decrease in precipitation by the year 2100. The decrease in rainfall would cause water shortages in these regions which would affect not only the people directly, but also the agriculture in the region, which could be a devastating blow to the economy. Another major issue is that the increasing change in climate will also speed up the extinction rate of certain species in these regions. All of these trends can lead to sea level rise which, along with human activities on coastal and marine ecosystems, would be catastrophic to fish stocks, corals, mangroves, recreation and tourism, and also the spread of diseases throughout the region. These diseases, along with the changing climate, would cause increased mortality rate, morbidity, and disabilities in these countries. For many of these countries, the first step toward adaption to future climate changes is to reduce the vulnerability to present climate.

     By the end of the 21^st century, South America could lose between 1% and 21% of its arable land. Think about that for a minute. South America could lose up to 1/5 of its arable land by the end of the century. Arable land is land that is able to be used for agriculture and farming. This means that the land that this entire region relies on for its own food source and economy will take an enormous blow. This loss of land would be due to both climate change and population growth. This could be slowed down and helped by a few things including better land management along with efficient agricultural practices, which the region does not have. I chose to talk about food production because food is not only vital to the lives of everyone in this area, but the economy could suffer dramatically if the export of these foods was suddenly halted. Many of the people in this region rely on agriculture to either provide food for their families or to provide income in order to be able to provide food, water, and shelter for their families. If 21% of the arable land in this region were to be lost, then 21% of the people relying on this land would also be in huge trouble. These people are not in trouble yet, but if nothing is done to slow down the loss of this land, then the people and their future generations will suffer the consequences. The chart below shows the decrease in agriculture (blue) over the next century. 

This image is from: http://ipcc-wg2.gov/AR5/images/uploads/WG2AR5_SPM_FINAL.pdf