The regional office of the National Observatory of the Climate Crisis was installed in the Libertador municipality (Mérida), which monitors, analyzes and disseminates climate changes that occur in the state of Mérida.
In the presence of Minister Josue Lorca and Governor Jehyson Guzmán, regional and municipal authorities, and the commander of the Integral Defense Operational Zone (ZODI) Rubén Belzares, the activity was carried out in the spaces of the Latin American Forestry Institute (IFLA) located in the Faculty of Forestry and Environmental Sciences.
Lorca stressed that the Andean entity was selected because it is one of the states most affected as a result of the climate crisis together with the state of Zulia, in recent years with heavy rainfall and its effects.
He added that this is the most important study area in the country, “it is a fundamental actor to bring together political factors; military and scientific in favor of helping the environment and the people, the latter being the main affected by the climate crisis. Let this be a space for the convergence of popular and scientific knowledge”, emphasized Lorca.
Human and technical team of the National Observatory of the Climate Crisis
The Mérida regional multidisciplinary team comprises 10 professionals with 4th academic level in the academic disciplines of geographers, economists, social researchers and geological engineers.
Luis Miguel Quintana, geographer and professor at the Universidad de los Andes (ULA) expressed his pleasure and commitment to create a system that allows for adequate responses in times of emergency. “The observatory will give us information before, during and after an event as a result of the climate crisis in Mérida, which will allow us to take mitigation and prevention actions.”
Quintana explained that the technical room has a desktop computer, which has free software installed that allows viewing meteorological data, as well as three drones to capture spaces that are difficult to access, GPS, and laptops for field work.
He added that as a Meridian and an academic he feels driven and motivated to contribute to the mitigation of the La Corona glacier, one of the projects he has worked on, among others.
A hope for the La Corona Glacier
In this sense, the director of the National Observatory of the Climate Crisis of minecFranklin Leal said that after the concerns of Governor Jehyson Guzmán, and Minister Lorca under the instructions of President Nicolás Maduro, a project was started to mitigate the loss of the glacier in Venezuela, La Corona in Humboldt Peak in the Sierra Nevada National Park.
Leal explained that one of the possible measures to mitigate the loss of the La Corona glacier is the purchase of a blanket that is made with a material called “geotextile, which is a combination of cotton and polymers, it is not the best solution but it is being studied.” the feasibility of placing something that helps us with its mitigation, here we would need 86 rolls of cloth or cloak, to cover 2.5 hectares».
Leal explained that there have been consultations with researchers from Chile, France, Spain to develop a more effective proposal for the protection of the La Corona Glacier, “Chilean researchers recommend placing the blanket around the perimeter, that is, in the rocky area, not by above the glacier, since the rocks heat up and generate heat fields.
The event was also attended by municipal authorities, the mayor of the Libertador municipality (Mérida) Jesús Araque, and the municipal authority of the Santos Marquina municipality (Tabay) Balmore Otalora, the director of the Fundación Instituto Forestal Latinoamericano (IFLA) del Fidel Ferrer, the regional director of the Minec Belisario Toro among other authorities.