Published September 27, 2012 The forest of towering, dead
mangrove trees stretches along the beach as far as the eye can
see. As the crashing waves rise and fall, short stumps emerge
and vanish beneath the Pacific Ocean. Climate change has come
early to the Bajo Lempa region of western El Salvador. A tiny
rise in the sea level has, according to local people, seen about
1,000 ft of the mangroves on which they depend vanish beneath
the ocean since 2005. Another 1,500 ft remains between the
Pacific and their village, La Tirana. No one, it seems, knows
how long it will take before the waves reach their homes. But
even now, the rising waters are ruining the villagers' meagre
livelihood. At low tide each day, the men in this community of
22 families wade through the mud collecting punche, a local
species of crab. A full day's backbreaking work can yield two
dozen crabs, which fetch around £2.50 ($4.00) on the local
market. It is the only cash income the people of La Tirana have
and they need it to buy basics such a