The Andean tropical mountains and the Climate Change
Rio de Janeiro, Brasil, 16 June 2012
Regional context
Climate change contextClimate in the Andes• Complex climate system with extreme natural gradients in temperature
and precipitation• Dominated by climate systems over Pacific Ocean, Amazon and Caribbean• Altitudinal gradients (temperature)• N-S and E-W gradients (precipitation)• Seasonality more pronounced in south• Lack of information on current climate conditions Future predictions• Overall, temperature increase rainfall, seasonality uncertain
Regions where >80% of models coincide in direction of change of precipitation
Buytaert & Julián Ramírez-Villegas in press
Impacts of climate change
• Biomes – vertical shifts (higher biomes only loose, lower ones loose and gain)
GCr Par PnH PnX BMs BMsd Arb PrP
Región A2.1039
Are
a(Km
2 )
01
00
20
03
00
PérdidaEstableGanancia
Tovar et al. in press PNAS
Impacts of climate change
• Water availability (how much and when) Local variation – changes in water availability due to changes in rainfall seasonality
and regulatory capacity of ecosystems and glaciers Influence of glaciers:
- In the north, paramos most important factor for water regulation throughout year- Glaciers (and puna) more important in the Central Andes for maintaining water production during the dry seasons, e.g. maintaining grazing systems
Climate change effects exacerbated (or surpassed?) by land use change, poor governance, inadequate policies, insufficient infrastructure, inefficient use and recycling of water
Relative change (%) in water availability for combined impacts (temp + rainfall) under climate change (Buytaert et al 2010)
Other drivers of change
• Often difficult to distinguish between effects of different drivers (e.g. changes in land use and climate change in terms of water regulation) Combined effects Integral, flexible
policies
Photo: J. Voss
Other drivers of change in the Andes
Population growth Especially in urban areas % in urban areas in Andean
countries
2010: 69% to 91%
1990: 55% to 87%
▪ Mountain cities - higher population density
▪ Lowland population (e.g. Lima) on Pacific coast depend on Andes for water
▪ Concentration of demand for water in high Andean cities (e.g. Bogota, Quito, La Paz)
CIESIN, 2011
0 - 499
500 - 1499
1500 - 2499
2500 - 3499
>= 3500
0.0E+00 2.0E+07 4.0E+07 6.0E+07 8.0E+07
Andean countries urban area pop. by altitude
Other drivers of change in the Andes
Change in land cover and use▪ Agricultural expansion (e.g.
influenced by bilateral trade agreements)
▪ Upward shift in agriculture (due to more suitable areas at higher altitudes)
▪ Increase in agricultural area and harvest (agro-chemicals, lowland especially, but water from Andes)
▪ Land degradation – loss of capacity for water regulation 1990
1994
1998
2002
2006
0
50000000
100000000
150000000
200000000
250000000
300000000
350000000
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
ProductionArea harvestedFertilizer useAgro-chemical use
Pro
duct
ion
(ton
nes)
/ A
rea
harv
este
d (h
a)
Other drivers of change in the Andes
Change in land cover and use
Mining (expansion, continued reliance of economic systems on extractive industries)
Deforestation, ecosystem degradation
South America: largest net loss of forest 1990-2010 (FAO 2010)
Decrease from 38% to 35% of forested area lost 1990 - 2010
Cuesta et al 2009
Key policy actions• Protect mountain ecosystems to safeguard water supplies
e.g. Paramos, puna, legal protection, mining no-go zones, basin-wide responsibility for strengthening upstream-down-stream partnerships
• Climate change adaptation addressed specifically for mountainsregional, national and local policies with flexible approaches (adaptive management) given uncertainty, further develop water management policies
• Innovate agricultural production in mountain areasrecuperate knowledge (especially of native products), work towards food security, protection of biodiversity with responsible agriculture, market access
• Transform current mining methods with responsible mining codespolicy formulation, push for more efficient use of mining products
Key policy actions• Effective communication mechanisms within government
i.e. between government departments (with overlapping jurisdictions); between government levels (local and national)
• Use regional cooperation mechanisms to share and replicate experiencese.g. where decentralization and increased citizens’ participation has been beneficial to sustainable mountain development
• Improve coordination/communication to ensure knowledge generated is applied to SMDe.g. between state universities in mountain areas, research NGOs, government bodies
• Implement decision support systems at local and regional levelse.g. for water management and climate change adaptation
Creating
joint solutions
from our diversity
using our knowledge
in harmony with the environment
[email protected]://www.condesan.org
Thank you