Climate Crisis Hits Colombia: Droughts, Floods, and Economic Strife Among the Wayuu People

RIOHACHA, Colombia (AP) — The Indigenous Wayuu people, who live as semi-nomads in the arid La Guajira region spanning northern Colombia and Venezuela, are experiencing significant disruptions to their traditional way of life due to climate change.

The increasing severity and duration of droughts, exacerbated by climate change, are deepening the water shortages faced by the Wayuu, impacting their access to potable water and reducing resources available for their livestock and agriculture. Erratic rainfall patterns further contribute to food insecurity, as agricultural yields diminish and livestock face survival challenges.

Additionally, the health risks for the Wayuu are escalating. More frequent heatwaves lead to higher risks of dehydration, while extreme weather events such as heavy floods elevate the likelihood of waterborne diseases.

Their traditional lifestyle is under threat from corporate and governmental interests aiming to exploit the region’s potential for wind energy generation.

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EDITOR’S NOTE: This article is part of a series exploring how tribes and Indigenous communities are addressing and adapting to climate change.

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Many Wayuu still adhere to traditional, semi-nomadic lifestyles in “rancherias,” which are settlements consisting of huts with roofs made of thatched dried cacti and mud, where they rear cattle and goats. They also maintain a governance system and legal framework rooted in their cultural and spiritual beliefs.

The deteriorating conditions have compelled numerous Wayuu to relocate either to urban centers or across national borders, exacerbating their socio-economic challenges. This displacement endangers their traditional economic activities, such as farming, fishing, and herding, and poses a threat to their cultural identity, which is deeply connected to their spiritual relationship with the land.

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Luciane Mengual, aged 22 and a mother of two from the Wayuu community, together with her 47-year-old mother Nelly, resides in an informal settlement named Villa del Sur on the outskirts of Riohacha in northern Colombia. They moved from Maracaibo, Venezuela, near the border, in search of better opportunities amidst Venezuela’s economic difficulties.

Their residence, constructed from materials such as tin, wood, and plastic tarps, is located in an area that was recently hit by severe flooding. The usually dry region of La Guajira has been experiencing increasingly frequent and intense floods, inundating homes that lack basic amenities like running water or sewage systems. The area’s typical strong winds often rip roofs from their fragile homes, further jeopardizing their living conditions.

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A Wayuu Indigenous family finds rest in a chinchorro, a traditional woven bed preferred over conventional mattresses. Unlike typical hammocks, a chinchorro has an enclosed, elongated design that wraps gently around the body, providing a cocoon-like environment. The Wayuu find it more suitable for sleeping than a regular hammock.

This family, also Wayuu migrants from Venezuela, resides in an informal settlement adjacent to Riohacha’s airport. Their home, lacking running water, is susceptible to the severe floods and extreme heat that have plagued the La Guajira region in recent years.

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Rosa Elena González, a 45-year-old Wayuu woman from Maracaibo, Venezuela, has been living for the past seven years in the Somos Unidos informal neighborhood in Maicao, Colombia, after migrating from Venezuela.

“When large weather events like heavy rains occur, the young and the old fall ill… most of them lack health insurance,” she shared. “Some families have roofs made from plastic bags that easily tear. In January, the wind was so strong it nearly took off everyone’s roofs.”

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Alfredo Atencio, a 69-year-old member of the Wayuu community living on the Colombian side of the border, resides in the Amanecer de la Paz neighborhood in Maicao with his daughter and her three children. His home, made from recycled materials and covered with zinc, lacks internal partitions, and he reports that the strong wind and flooding have affected him significantly.

“The challenges are severe, and when it’s very hot with a lot of sun, it becomes unbearable,” he told the Associated Press. Thanks to a kit provided by the Danish Refugee Council, Atencio has been able to expand his home using the supplied wood and cement boards, significantly improving his living conditions.

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Kelmis Maria Gonzalez, a 45-year-old Wayuu woman and teacher from Mayapo along the La Guajira coast, lives with her son, David. She is also educated in teachings about “Mother Earth.” Gonzalez states that climate change, spurred by multinational activities, is drastically affecting the Wayuu, especially the traditional fishermen known as Apalaanchi. Coastal erosion is rapidly eroding shorelines and mangroves in her community, and she points to offshore gas production, visible in the distance, as a primary offender.

“It is a territorial and environmental crisis that deeply affects us as a people, particularly from a spiritual viewpoint,” she explained to AP. “Our bond with nature is essential to our identity as Wayuu. We see the sea as our ancestral grandmother, who nourishes us. Yet, she also sends us a warning — our actions are harming her.”

Gonzalez criticizes “cultures that chase what they describe as progress,” particularly through the exploitation of natural resources.

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In the secluded Cabo de la Vela, a core area for the Wayuu people, Luis Arturo Barliza, 48, represents the small community of Casa Eléctrica, where a wind farm has been proposed.

Several wind farm initiatives in La Guajira are currently stalled as the Wayuu communities debate how to proceed with these projects and what benefits they might receive. While Barliza personally does not oppose the wind farms and has agreed to allow turbines on his property, many in his community, including his own family, strongly oppose the companies behind these projects.

“Reaching an agreement is going to be very difficult, it’s a complex issue,” Barliza acknowledges, noting that the Wayuu communities have diverse leaders and viewpoints on the matter. According to Indepaz, a Bogota-based think tank, over 50 wind farm projects are on hold due to opposition from the Wayuu people.

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