Colombia's Alta Guajira region struggles with drought

Water is as vital as it is scarce in the Alta Guajira region of north-eastern Colombia.

It has been three years since its 200,000 inhabitants, most of them members of the Wayuu indigenous group, have seen rain fall.

Rain used to fall seasonally here, but repeated El Nino weather systems have triggered a severe and long-lasting drought.

The earth where the Porshina reservoir used to be is cracked and dry.
It used to provide water for 300 to 400 Wayuu families and their animals.

Livestock misery

Beniverto Fernandez, who lives near the reservoir with his family, says he has lost 80 sheep and 30 goats to the drought.

"There is nothing for the animals to eat," he explains. The story is the same in every household in Alta Guajira.

Animals are key to the Wayuu people. Their loss has a deep impact as they are used as bride tokens and to pay debts and settle scores.

But no rain means no crops.

And with little to harvest, the Wayuu are increasingly turning to their livestock into a food source.
"Sometimes we get bored of eating rice and we eat the animals," says Mr Fernandez.
In the shed where Mr Fernandez's water tanks are kept, cloth bags full of seeds await a more propitious time for planting.

The tanks are filled with water from a 1950s-built wind pump some 2km (1.2 miles) away.

Malnutrition:

But the situation remains serious.

Over a year ago, the provincial authorities declared a public calamity which has yet to be lifted.
Between January and August this year, there have been 11 cases of children under the age of five whose death was attributed to malnutrition.
And it is not a new problem.

America Gonzalez lost three of her children to malnutrition some five years ago.
Her two youngest recovered but are now at renewed risk.

Direct line:

Wayuu leader Gustavo Valbuena thinks that too many of the government's resources are getting lost or diverted.
He wants them to go directly to the Wayuu, so they no longer have to rely on the local authorities to pass them on.
"A year ago we spoke to President Juan Manuel Santos and the cabinet to establish an autonomous region," he told.

Todd Howland of the United Nations office in Colombia thinks the move could be a first step towards solving the Wayuu's problems,

"The indigenous authorities themselves need to be given the resources and made responsible for overcoming the actual problems that exist," he told the BBC.
But this is unlikely to happen soon.

And with the strongest El Nino weather phenomenon in decades causing more hot and dry weather weather, prospects for this region look anything but promising.