Summary and Factsheet: Climate Impacts on Food Security in Puerto Parada, El Salvador

Lea en español.

Climate change undermines food sovereignty and rural livelihoods in Puerto Parada, El Salvador, according to a report by economic students from the Universidad Centroamericana José Simeón Cañas (UCA). The residents of the low-lying rural district on the Jiquilisco Bay depend almost entirely on small-scale fishing, aquaculture, agriculture, and livestock, much of which is for subsistence consumption. The effects of climate change have already impacted food security in Puerto Parada with growing extremes in weather patterns seen in an increase of both droughts and flooding. But to date, no comprehensive studies on the climate impacts to food security have been undertaken until this senior thesis by a team of three student-researchers under the guidance of Professor Meraris López, of the UCA Department of Economics.

Read the full report, “Economic, Social, and Environmental Impacts of Climate Change on Agricultural Production in El Salvador: A Case Study of Puerto Parada, Usulután.”

“The report represents a significant academic and socioeconomic contribution by integrating approaches from environmental economics, food sovereignty, and sustainable development in a territory particularly vulnerable to climate change,” said López.

“Its relevance lies in the fact that it demonstrates, from a territorial perspective, how extreme weather events and productive transformations affect rural livelihoods, food security, and the local economic structure. It also provides essential empirical input to guide public policies for adaptation and resilience in coastal communities, with a potential impact on the formulation of inclusive, environmentally responsible, and socially equitable development strategies for territories like Puerto Parada.”

The student team, working in partnership with the Asociación Cincahuite and the Jiquilisco Bay Alliance, held focus groups with more than 100 residents from communities surrounding Puerto Parada in early 2025 to gather qualitative data to supplement the limited quantitative data on food security in the region. The report also situates the local conditions in Puerto Parada within the broader context of El Salvador’s agriculture-based export model and growing environmental vulnerability, tracing the country’s dependence on export crops since the 19th century, showing how this historically entrenched land inequality and reliance on export crops like sugar affect current conditions in Puerto Parada. 

These structural issues are aggravated by the intensification of climate change, producing recurrent floods, droughts, and soil degradation. Rising temperatures—projected to increase by 1.4 to 1.6 degrees Celsius by the end of the decade—threaten staple crops such as corn, beans, and fruits and vegetables.

This study was conducted alongside a socioeconomic analysis of Puerto Parada by fellow UCA economic students. Both senior theses were conducted as part of the development of El Salvador’s first Fishery Improvement Project by the Asociación Cincahuite and Jiquilisco Bay Alliance. The mission of both organizations is to support Puerto Parada residents in achieving their community-led goals of ecological sustainability and economic empowerment.

Local Socio-Environmental Conditions

Puerto Parada’s flat, mangrove-bordered terrain makes it highly exposed to flooding. Tropical Storms Amanda and Cristóbal (2020) and subsequent rains in 2024 inundated communities, destroyed crops, and killed mollusk species vital to subsistence. 497 families were affected in 2020 alone. Focus-group data reveal the erosion of soils, contamination of freshwater, and declining fish and shellfish populations, all reducing food availability and household income.

Economic and Social Impacts

Households rely heavily on informal labor and seasonal earnings. Loss of harvests and declining catches force families to depend on remittances or to migrate, particularly youth leaving agriculture. Current political conditions in the United States have resulted in a steep decline in money transfers, exacerbating the situation. Women, who play central roles in household food security, face compounding vulnerabilities due to the lack of land ownership and access to credit.

Institutional and Policy Gaps

The research finds limited government support for small-scale producers and for climate adaptation and  financing programs for sustainable production. Agricultural policies continue to favor large-scale monocultures rather than agroecological or climate-resilient methods, reinforcing inequality and dependence on imports.

Conclusions and Recommendations

Climate change in Puerto Parada has multi-dimensional effects—environmental degradation, loss of biodiversity, declining productivity, and social displacement—that collectively threaten food sovereignty. The authors recommend:

• Integrating agroecological practices and local knowledge into national agricultural policy.

• Expanding financial and technical assistance for small producers and fisherfolk.
  Strengthening disaster-risk management and mangrove restoration.

• Promoting community-based food systems that reduce dependence on imported goods.

The study concludes that climate resilience and food sovereignty are inseparable goals; achieving them requires reorienting El Salvador’s development model toward equity, sustainability, and local empowerment.

The Jiquilisco Bay Alliance would like to offer profound thanks to student-researchers Eduardo Cabrera, Daniela Gómez, Flor Mendoza and Max García, as well as Professor Meraris López and the Department of Economics at the Universidad Centroamericana José Simeón Cañas for their impactful and tireless work on this report.

 ¡Muchas gracias!