Title
Glacier loss and hydro-social risks in the Peruvian Andes
Date Issued
01 December 2017
Access level
open access
Resource Type
journal article
Author(s)
Mark B.G.
French A.
Baraer M.
Carey M.
Bury J.
Young K.R.
Polk M.H.
Wigmore O.
Crumley R.
McKenzie J.M.
Lautz L.
Publisher(s)
Elsevier B.V.
Abstract
Accelerating glacier recession in tropical highlands and in the Peruvian Andes specifically is a manifestation of global climate change that is influencing the hydrologic cycle and impacting water resources across a range of socio-environmental systems. Despite predictions regarding the negative effects of long-term glacier decline on water availability, many uncertainties remain regarding the timing and variability of hydrologic changes and their impacts. To improve context-specific understandings of the effects of climate change and glacial melt on water resources in the tropical Andes, this article synthesizes results from long-term transdisciplinary research with new findings from two glacierized Peruvian watersheds to develop and apply a multi-level conceptual framework focused on the coupled biophysical and social determinants of water access and hydro-social risks in these settings. The framework identifies several interacting variables—hydrologic transformation, land cover change, perceptions of water availability, water use and infrastructure in local and regional economies, and water rights and governance—to broadly assess how glacier change is embedded with social risks and vulnerability across diverse water uses and sectors. The primary focus is on the Santa River watershed draining the Cordillera Blanca to the Pacific. Additional analysis of hydrologic change and water access in the geographically distinct Shullcas River watershed draining the Huaytapallana massif towards the city of Huancayo further illuminates the heterogeneous character of hydrologic risk and vulnerability in the Andes.
Start page
61
End page
76
Volume
159
Language
English
OCDE Knowledge area
Investigación climática
Oceanografía, Hidrología, Recursos hídricos
Meteorología y ciencias atmosféricas
Geografía física
Subjects
Scopus EID
2-s2.0-85032733259
Source
Global and Planetary Change
ISSN of the container
09218181
Sponsor(s)
This work was supported by multiple sources including the National Science Foundation (grant numbers: DEB-CNH #1010384 , EAR-HYDRO #1316432 , BCS #0752175 , BCS #1434248 , CNH #1010381 , BCS #1333141 , CNH-S #1617429 ), the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Partnerships for Enhanced Engagement in Research (PEER Cycle 3, Grant #127), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA Grant # NNX06AF11G ), the US Fulbright Commission , the Fulbright-Hays Program , the Inter-American Foundation , and the Pacific Rim Research Program . We acknowledge the institutional collaboration of the Peruvian National Water Authority (ANA), in particular the Office of Glaciology and Water Resources (UGRH) in Huaraz and Director Ing. Alejo Cochachin Rapre. We gratefully recognize the cooperation of the Huascarán National Park for permission to conduct research, as granted under Director Ing. Ricardo Jesús Gómez. We thank Patricia Ames and Aventura Quechua for logistical arrangements of field work. We thankfully acknowledge constructive reviews by Christian Huggel and an anonymous reviewer, whose comments have improved this manuscript.
One prevailing state-led strategy to address burgeoning water demands and water-related conflicts among end-users is the universal formalization of water-use rights via volumetric allocations. This process is a key element of the integrated water management regime established under Peru's 2009 Hydrologic Resources Law (Law N o 29338), and has proceeded under the direction of the Program for Water Rights Formalization (PROFODUA) with financial support from the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank ( French, 2016b ). The government has prioritized this rights-allocation process on the Pacific slope, especially in large and economically important watersheds like the Santa. A long-term objective of the process is the reduction of the complexity of access entitlements that have developed since the 1969 agrarian reform through overlapping systems of usufruct rights held by small-scale users and state-issued licenses primarily for large-scale and industrial users ( Boelens et al., 2010; Guillet, 1992 ).
Sources of information:
Directorio de Producción Científica
Scopus