State of emergency hits 100 days in Bolivia, 1,25,000 families affected till now

A state of emergency over drought conditions in Bolivia has reached 100 days, with the economy, business and communities taking a hit from water restrictions that have gripped the land-locked nation.

In November, the South American country declared the state of emergency after residents of Bolivia's second-largest city El Alto briefly held authorities with a local water-distribution company hostage to demand the government explain its plans to mitigate the shortage.

The drought has since prompted protests in major cities and conflicts between miners and farmers over the use of aquifers.

The Andean nation is facing the effects of the La Nina weather phenomenon, where cooler ocean temperatures are bringing on dry conditions in the country's highlands.

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President Evo Morales last week said that without rainfall in February or March swathes of the nation will suffer from a lack of water due to global warming.

"Perhaps global warming brings with it many issues, my concerns are in the Bolivian highlands. In January there was a lot of rain but now there is no rain. If it does not rain this month and the next month of March we are going to have many problems with the issue of water," he said.

Amidst popular anger over the drought, Morales announced last month that the government will spend $42 million US on a reservoir outside of La Paz to provide water to neighbourhoods in the city that has seen water supply restricted to 12 hours a day.

The development plan comes as Victor Hugo Rico from the country's water authority AAP told Reuters that water levels at three water catchment areas in the country are nearly at zero.

"Clearly in Incachaca, Hampaturi and Ajuan Khota at around December 30 they reached their minimal levels, practically around zero," he said.

Jobs have also taken a hit from the drought.

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According to reports, a local ketchup and mayonnaise factory laid off 450 personnel to offset the added costs of installing water storage and treatment facilities.

Businesses have had to resort to trucking in water to their factories but the quality of water provided is reportedly below standard.

"The biggest hit that we have received in this situation has been the quality of water. We have had water parameters that are out of range with iron and chlorine and also sediments. We have had to make significant investments of around $120,000 US which were not anticipated, taking into account the installation of a water treatment plant, the supply or medication of some tanks which gives us a capacity of 300 cubic metres of water, which is enough storage for three days of production," said Maria Isabel Vargas, a production manager at a local factory.

The mainstay of Bolivia's economy is primary and mining industries, water-intensive sectors that are heavily reliant on a steady and uninterrupted supply of water.

Bolivia's Vice Ministry of Civil Defence estimated that the drought has affected 125,000 families and threatened 290,000 hectares (716,605 acres) of agricultural land and 360,000 heads of cattle.

Economist Gonzalo Chavez said the drought will trim growth in Bolivia.

"Some say that this (climate change) is a black swan that cannot be seen, others say that climate change is an elephant that has been in front of our noses for a long time. This has a strong impact on economic growth, of at least one percent by the end of 2016 and it probably will have a similar affect of one of 1.5 percent in 2017," he said.

International aid has come into Bolivia in recent decades to improve the country's infrastructure and secure resources for the population.

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However, Chavez told Reuters that Bolivia has failed to make the necessary changes to its production base to ensure greater resource security.

"This had been the best opportunity that Bolivia has had in the last 100 years. Bolivia has received half of a Marshall Plan (an aid plan) of around an additional $60 million US, half the amount that was used by England in 1948, 1949, a third of which was used by France for its economy. Bolivia had to make a significant productive change with those resources and the only thing that has been does is consolidating primary export industry which drains on the environment," he added.

Experts predict the drought conditions will carry on until 2018.

According to the United Nations, landlocked Bolivia is one of the world's most vulnerable nations to climate change. It has lost 43% of its glaciers in just two decades and the drought has cost business some $700 million US.