Devastating Rains in Brazil and East Africa: Global Climate Change is Directly Affecting the Gem & Jewelry Industry
Gary Roskin
RoskinGemNewsReport
Climate change is directly affecting the gem industry. And it is becoming a reoccurring theme in our news feed. We’ve already reported this year on devastating floods in Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique and Malawi, and how it has affected these mining communities.
Today, we are once again looking at flooding in East Africa, this time in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, and Somalia, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). Checking in with expert mining, gem & mineral consultant, Lee Horowitz, while much of the latest rounds of storms in Kenya appear to be targeting tourist areas in the southwest, and general areas in the north / northeast, the gem mines of the south east in Taita and further south into Tanzania are still troubled by rain. Very little, if anything, is coming out of Tanzania, says Horowitz, with the Kenyan government placing mining bans in certain areas due to collapsing mines. We will be paying close attention, as we know how important this area is for East African gems.
Flooding in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
The rains have been so heavy in southern Brazil this past week that there was no escaping the floods in Rio Grande do Sul. Weather reports are not favorable as the rains are expected to continue into this weekend. It is already heart wrenching, washing away homes and businesses, and taking lives, livelihoods, destroying infrastructure and supply chains.
Bahia to the North
We reached out to Brian Cook, Nature’s Geometry, who happens to be in Bahia at the moment. “The subject of flooding is very big news here in Brazil,” notes Cook. “The major amethyst and agate mines of Rio Grande do Sul have definitely been affected. To what degree is still yet to be determined.” Even the folks in Rio Grande do Sul cannot tell us how damaging the flooding has been.
Cook has heard that some of the processing centers, where stones are cut and sorted, etc., have been affected. “Infrastructure has been trashed,” says Cook. “Roads are completely gone, so accessibility to many places is definitely an issue.” The low lying river basins are where the major flooding is happening, and according to some reports, this storm has been the most damaging on record for at least the past 80 years.
Porto Alegre – the Capital City
Gustavo Schwetz of Origems, Brazil, located in Porto Alegre, the capital city of Rio Grande do Sul, has reached out to the Roskin Gem News Report and gives us a first hand account.
Porto Alegre, the capital of Rio Grande Do Sul, population 1.5 million, is Schwetz’s home town and the location of his gemstone warehouse. Family members were evacuated from the city last week, mainly due to the lack of access to supplies like food and water. Schwetz was on vacation when the rains came and has been trying, but still unable, to get a flight home now for over a week. Images from local news reports show the airport in Porto Alegre is completely under water.
Family members and staff are all safe, but some colleagues are not. Schwetz recalled one colleague’s family who had just spent the last five years building their home, and now are left with absolutely nothing. “The flood took the entire home. Everyone is talking about the floods, and they sound very serious. But most people do not realize just how serious it really is.” … what it’s like to lose everything.
Wide Devastation
This disaster covers not just Porto Alegre, but another 450 cities throughout the region, says Schwetz. “Just my city alone, the entire city, was without electricity and water for two to three days. And now that the river has receded, that water has flowed south, to the southern portion of the state. So now they are facing terrible floods.” But just because the Porto Alegre flood waters are receding, the danger has not yet passed. They are expecting an additional 100 mm (4 inches) of rain over the next four days, which could once again drown the city.
Origems Brazil
“We are a company with a large number of suppliers, mostly from Brazil,” notes Schwetz. “We’re like a big family.” According to Schwetz, even though many of their suppliers are in the hills or in the northern part of the state, they too are in danger of losing their homes and their warehouses… “It’s heartbreaking,” says Schwetz. “Just heartbreaking.”
Disaster Relief
They are all asking for help. This is a disaster, and they need disaster relief funds.
Schwetz has some recommendations for donations to be made to people on the front lines, who know exactly what needs to be done. You can contact him through their website (link is above) if you are inclined to donate directly.
The state has their own call for donations, seen here. “Any help would be welcome,” says Schwetz.
The United Nations Sees the Problem of Climate Change in East Africa
May 8 – U.N. – Unprecedented Flooding Displaces Hundreds of Thousands Across East Africa
In an alert, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) noted that torrential rains have unleashed catastrophic flooding and mudslides while also severely damaging roads, bridges and dams. More than 637,000 people have been affected by weeks of deluges, including 234,000 displaced in just the last five days. There is no official figure for the number of dead.
The Never-ending Emergency
“The numbers [of displaced people] keep rising,” the UN agency said, noting that the flooding emergency was one of the “harsh realities” of climate change, which has claimed lives and uprooted entire communities. “As these individuals face the daunting task of rebuilding, their vulnerability only deepens,” said Rana Jaber, IOM’s regional director.
And it’s Not Their Fault
Africa is highly vulnerable to climate change despite contributing only about four per cent to global greenhouse gas emissions. The eastern and Horn of Africa areas have particularly been impacted by alternating cycles of drought and intense precipitation over the last decade, IOM maintained.
Help is also underway in neighbouring Ethiopia to more than 70,000 flood-affected people across Somali and Oromia regions and to 39,000 people in Kenya’s most severely flood-affected east, centre and west and in Somalia, where some 240,000 people are to receive shelter materials, hygiene kits, essential medical care and psychosocial support, among other services.
Talk Talk Talk – “Climate Talks Imperative”
Ahead of UN-led discussions in Germany in June to tackle climate change, IOM said it was increasingly “evident” that any discussions on our warming planet and its impact on the environment should now include considerations of human mobility and displacement.
East African leaders have already signed and committed to the Kampala Ministerial Declaration on Migration, Environment and Climate Change to address the “challenges and the opportunities of climate mobility”, IOM said, but greater efforts are needed to support its implementation, “including advocating for the inclusion of climate mobility at global climate discussions” such as the upcoming UN Climate Change Conference (COP29) in November 2024, taking place in Baku, Azerbaijan.
Brian Cook – the last word from Brazil for now…
“As we go forward in time, natural weather crises will continue, and most likely intensify,” says Cook. So this subject will be important for our industry. We need to think about how this might affect mining communities around the globe, and how it may affect future supply chains. We expect to hear more from Cook and Schwetz as news from the south becomes available.
Here at the Roskin Gem News Report, we will continue to report on weather related issues affecting the gem and jewelry industry. – gr
