7: Trees and Refugees

Ecuador

A Climate Pollinator story by Sierra Ross Richer

January to April is the rainy season in Guayaquil, a port city on the coast of Ecuador. But this year, said Sara Noemi Viteri Moreno, a member of Iglesia Jesus el Buen Pastor in Guayaquil, it has hardly rained at all.  

Noemi is an environmental engineer who helps lead the youth program at her church. “It has stopped raining the way it used to,” Noemi said, “and that makes it so it’s hotter.” Noemi suspects these trends are linked to something else: decreasing tree cover in the city. 

“Close to the church, there used to be these trees that were really old,” Noemi said. “They had been there for many years.” But about five years ago, the city removed them. 

Since then, Noemi said, there is less shade and the increased heat is notable. It’s not just those trees, either. All around the city, trees have been cut down as the population increases. “Those trees brought rain to this area,” Noemi said.

With over three million residents, Guayaquil is the largest city in Ecuador, and it’s constantly growing. Many of the newcomers are Ecuadorians from rural areas, but the city has also been receiving an increasing number of refugees from outside the country, mainly from Venezuela. 

Since 2015, Ecuador has received over 500,000 refugees fleeing political turmoil, violence, poverty and economic and social insecurity in Venezuela. In Guayaquil, Noemi said, many of them end up living by the rivers, under bridges and in parks. 

United Nations Climate Change (UNFCCC) describes climate change as a threat multiplier that “worsens social, economic and environmental pressures, leading to social upheaval and possibly even violent conflict.” 

Immigration of refugees from Venezuela means that destinations like Guayaquil become more crowded. People cut down forests and build near rivers and this, Noemi said, leads to problems like landslides and flooding. 

Noemi wishes her church would do more to address environmental issues. But, she said, “We aren’t very conscious about what is happening.” 

What the congregation has done is provide support for Venezuelan refugees. Over the years, the church building has served as a temporary home for families searching for work and housing, and the congregants have provided the newcomers with mattresses to sleep on, food to eat and clothes to wear. 

“Migration means there are more people in one place,” Noemi said. “There aren’t any more places to get established anymore.”

She continued: “This is something that is a part of climate change. It’s one of the problems we can start with.”