Adapting ecosystems in Peru’s High Andes to climate change

Context

Around 4.5 million people live in Peru’s High Andes. Many of them keep animals such as alpacas or lamas and practice agriculture. The ecosystem of the Puna plateau in the south of Peru also provides a reliable source of water for coastal areas.

However, climate change is having massive negative effects on the region: glaciers are melting and precipitation patterns are changing, while droughts, floods and severe frost are damaging livestock farming, crop production and water supplies. This is jeopardising the livelihoods of the population and putting pressure on communities.

Objective

The population of the High Andes manages its ecosystems more effectively and is better equipped to deal with the impacts of climate change in the long term.

Approach

The project is working to build people’s skills, helping them to protect their livelihoods by preserving and restoring the Puna ecosystem and managing it more effectively. To do so, the project promotes measures to adapt agriculture, livestock farming and the ecosystem more successfully to climate change. The measures draw on nature-based and traditional knowledge.

The project is setting up a permanent mechanism for funding the communities so that they can restore wetlands, highland pastures, terraces and watering points. This is designed to promote participation in value chains in agriculture and livestock farming sectors.

To achieve this, the project begins by analysing the needs of the local communities and their knowledge. Participants subsequently learn how to use participatory planning and monitoring methods, formulate measures and use existing support instruments.

Specialist staff in the authorities learn about cooperative and gender-sensitive planning and coordination mechanisms, making inclusive and climate-resilient practices more important in the long term.

The project cooperates with the Ministry of Agricultural Development and Irrigation (MIDAGRI), the Peruvian environmental fund Profonanpe, the National Service for Natural Protected Areas (SERNANP) and the Mountain Institute (Instituto de Montaña). It receives co-financing from the Green Climate Fund (GCF) and the Canadian Government.

Last update: October 2024