Level III – Unit 1: What has happened?

Task 1: Colombia: A green country?

Time: 6 hours

In this unit you will recognize your and others’ environmental practices.

● Communicative function: Present different human actions impact on environment

● Critical thinking:
- Students express in their own words the most relevant information
- Students distinguish between a fact (research, data and evidence) and an opinion
(experience).

Pre-reading: Look at the title and write what you think the reading will be about: __the
reading talk about what the students think on environmental chances with their own words.
____.

Visit the source and determine:

● What does GFDRR stand for? _________________________________________________.

● Visit the Who we are section and explore the countries and institutions in charge of the
webpage.

While-reading: Underline the words unknown to you. Try to write a Spanish word that
makes sense for you according to the context. Then, verify with your dictionary, classmates or
teacher.

Natural Hazard Risk1

Colombia is a country with high exposure to natural hazards, including cyclones, coastal
and river flooding, earthquakes, landslides, and volcanoes. It has the highest recurrence
of extreme hazard events in South America, with 84 percent of the population and 86
percent of assets exposed to two or more hazards.

The country’s tropical climate lends to heavy and frequent rains, a condition altered by El
Niño and La Niña phenomena. The 2010–11 La Niña rainy season affected approximately
3.5 million people and caused unprecedented economic losses and damages from flash
floods, landslides, and other hazard events. More recently in 2017 and 2018, a series of
landslides and floods affected the country nationwide, leaving hundreds dead and
thousands of livelihoods disrupted.

1 Taken from: https://www.gfdrr.org/en/colombia

 Although hydro-meteorological events represent most disaster-related losses, 86
percent of the population live in medium- and high-risk seismic areas. With more than 20
active volcanoes, about 1.9 million people located in areas at-risk, of whom 240,000 at
high risk.

Colombia has one of the highest urbanization rates in Latin America, with significant
portions of the population living in poorly planned urban areas, informal settlements,
and densely populated coastal areas. This, coupled with the effects of climate change, is
exacerbating damages and losses caused by flooding and landslides. By 2060, the sea
level on both coastlines (Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean) could increase by 40–60
centimeters from 1961–90 levels, putting millions of coastal inhabitants and gross
domestic product at greater risk from flooding, storm surge and other natural hazards.

Post-reading: After reading the text, answer the following questions:

● What’s the reading about? ____________________________________________________

● According to the text, why is Colombia exposed to natural disasters? (There are two
reasons).
● What kind of people are at the highest risk of suffering by a natural catastrophe in Colombia?
Why?

Write the names of the environmental issues in the images below. Use the terms in the
vocabulary box. Then, think on places in Colombia that have experienced those disasters.

· Wildfires · Volcano eruptions

· Droughts · Floods

· Famine · Mudslides

__________________________ _________________________
 _________________________ __________________________________

_________________________________ __________________________________

Pre-listening: Look at the image and pay attention to the title. “The Colombian grebe has
disappeared” Why do you think this animal became extinct?

At the beginning of the second paragraph, the news mentions the factors that affected the grebe
population. What has happened? ____________________________________________________.

While-listening: Click on the image and watch the video. Take notes while listening. Write what you
see or words and expressions you identify.
Post-listening: Choose true or false according to the video.

Statement True False

a.Nobody has seen an albino spider monkey in the field.

b. Deforestation has caused animals to move out of their territories.

c. Gregorio has lived there for some months.

d. The water in Colombia territories has been polluted.

e. Government has helped to improve the air quality.

Work in pairs. Choose one of the following news and evaluate the source. Then, read
the article and present the story in your own words. Relate what has happened in
Colombia in terms of environmentalist practices that provoked those catastrophes.

● https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/apr/01/colombia-landslide-mocoa-putumayo-
heavy-rains
● https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2018/nov/08/earthquakes-mudslides-active-volcano-
worlds-riskiest-city-manizales-colombia

● https://colombiareports.com/colombia-burns-wildfires-spread/