The Biodiversity Foundation and WWF have presented, today, the “Climate Witnesses” project, an initiative of this organization at an international level that aims to raise awareness of the people who are already being affected by climate change around the world. In Spain, 27 witnesses recount their experience in the first person, to bring the problem closer to society.

“Climate Witnesses” opened this morning in Madrid with a photographic exhibition by Francisco Márquez, which brings together images of citizens who see how climate change is negatively influencing their lives. This sample is complemented by a website (www.wwf.es/testigosdelclima) that collects all the information related to the human faces of this threat. The third element of this project is a travelling exhibition that will travel around Spain to reach all citizens.

The project, which has the support of the Biodiversity Foundation, is a living initiative that will grow with new testimonies. To date, 27 stories have been collected within the national territory, covering 11 of the 17 Autonomous Communities, and a wide variety of professions. Specifically, it reveals how sectors as diverse as agriculture, fishing and tourism are being harmed by climate change.

For example, if the sea temperature rises by two degrees, some species of algae may disappear in Galicia, such as sugar kombu or wakame. In addition, inland, the alterations in the seasons of the year are jeopardizing the harvests.

Today’s inauguration is part of WWF’s global Climate Witness initiative, through which 143 witnesses tell how climate change is changing their ways of life. Floods, droughts, alterations in wind patterns, rising sea levels and receding oceans are some examples reflected in their testimonies.

In Tanzania, the sea has advanced about 200 meters in the last 50 years and the coast is getting closer and closer to some villages such as Kunduchi, which is very dangerous for the locals. In Madagascar, fishermen and farmers watch with sadness as rainfall slows down and the seasons change. On the other side of the world, another witness relates that half of his house in Lohachara was washed away by the river and then the rest of the Indian island was submerged.

Francisco Márquez’s photographic exhibition will be open to the public until June 30 at the Reale Foundation (Paseo de la Castellana, 9-11, Madrid).