Dionicio Colque, 42, has fond memories of growing up on the edge of Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia. It’s the world’s largest salt flat, spanning about 10,500 square kilometers (4,050 square miles). His family farmed potatoes on the outskirts of Colcha K, a community of around 1,000 residents in Nor Lípez province.
But in around 2005, the freshwater spring that sustained their ranch ran dry, a loss Colque attributes to the effects of climate change and nearby mining operations. With no water, the family was forced to abandon its ranch and move into the city. “It was heartbreaking to watch our land dry up,” Colque told Mongabay. “Without water, there is no life.”
Colque, now a teacher at Colcha K’s main elementary school, is among the residents alarmed by an influx of lithium mining plants that threaten the community’s remaining groundwater.
Read more here: https://news.mongabay.com/2025/04/bolivian-communities-push-back-against-foreign-backed-lithium-projects/