ABSTRACT
On the southern border of Buenos Aires, a small river called the Riachuelo has been heavily polluted for over two centuries by tanneries, slaughterhouses and petrochemical industries. It has become a dump site, a dead river without biological activity. The river basin covers an area where almost five million people live, half a million of them in slums. The lack of proper sanitation systems has converted the river into an open-air sewer. This scenario reflects the global phenomenon of climate change, but its most dramatic effects are felt at the local level. The change in rainfall regimes during the last two decades means that 1.5 million people living in territories that are below five meters of sea level will face the risk of major floods in coming years. Climate change appears in the basin as spatial segregation of those inhabiting potential flood areas.
