Profile. Protected area. Huascarán National Park. Mountain range. Cordillera Blanca. Country. Peru. Rodney Garrard

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1 Management & Polic Issues eco.mont - Volume 4, Numbe 1, June 2012 ISSN X pint vesion ISSN online vesion: 35 The effects of climate change on people in the Andes: melting glacies mean dought, tension and conflict fo Peu s mountain people in and aound Huascaán National Pak Rodne Gaad Kewods: societal impacts of glacie change, wate suppl, climate change mitigation, consevation, livelihoods and development, paticipato natual esouce management Abstact The effects of climate and glacies on societ have been paticulal sevee in Peu s Codillea Blanca (White Mountains) home of the indigenous Quechua-speaking people. Some even go so fa as to sa Peuvians have paid a highe pice than most fo melting glacies. Yet, despite convincing aguments in call-to-action intenet bulletins and scientific aticles, little infomation is available egading human esponses to, o societal impacts of, diminishing glacies in mountain egions, especiall those in developing counties. Pofile Potected aea Huascaán National Pak Mountain ange Codillea Blanca Count Peu Quantifing glacie change Eve ea since 1941, glaciologists have endued weeks at high-elevation glacial lake camps, woking in oxgen-depived ai and listening though cold nights to the haunting sounds of ginding glacies ovehead (Cae 2008). Thei aim is to continue the wok established b Hans Kinzel, one of the pionees of sstematic eseach in Peu s Codillea Blanca, which contains 600 glacies and an eve-gowing numbe of glacial lakes. This is one of the longest unning eseach pogammes on glacie-climate dnamics in the topics. Scientists fom acoss the wold now meet egulal to stud this vital achive, to shae data collected fom test sites in othe mountain anges and to mull ove the implications of thei findings (Vuille et al. 2008). Each ea, thei fowns of concen deepen. Implications fo societ Unlike man othe consequences of climate change, melting glacies ae highl visible and widel ecognized b people aound the wold. Toda, thee is ovewhelming evidence both anecdotal and scientific of global glacie eteat, which is likel to acceleate in coming decades. Eve da seems to bing moe news of the fa-eaching, even catastophic consequences that diminishing glacies will poduce. Toda, on web postings and in man popula aticles, people speak of glacies as if the ae an endangeed species that deseves potection against extinction (Cae 2010). Meanwhile, millions of people in mountain aeas woldwide face potential wate shotages as glacies disappea. A significant popotion of the wold s population depends upon wate eleased seasonall fom mountain glacies and snow. The media, Figue 1 Soils in the valles of Codillea Blanca ae ve fetile and continue to be famed b Quechua people as the have been fo centuies. Floencia Zapata in chasing the latest swelteing summe sto, no doubt exaggeate cataclsmic scenaios of natual disastes, wate shotages, the demise of agicultue and degaded touist destinations to pe on people s disaste feas what the BBC has temed climate pon (BBC 2009). But, if onl a few of these futue scenaios come tue, the economic, ecological and social costs to humanit will be enomous.

2 M a n a g e m e n t & Polic Issues Pacific Ocean HNP Ataca m Lima le Huascaán m d. Yunga m o sc Pi l ch o Caaz m C ta C San N a Ten alle uz V B Rio l a lle a N l ca e in Ish Caesh m c lle. le n nta Sa d p o Huaaz m ju C Cahuaz m Co 36 g a Recua m Legend Settlement with less than people Settlement with moe than people # Summit Caullaaju m Tansition Zone ( km²) Buffe Zone (5 900 km²) Huascaán National Pak (3 400 km²) Glaciated Aea (359 km²) Deceasing Glaciated Aea (84 km²) Souces SRTM (elevation model), stm-csi.cgia.og, 2012 Boundaies, fooaguasanta.og, 2012 whc.unesco.og, 2012 Impint Authos: Elias Hodel, Rodne Gaad Cente fo Development and Envionment Univesit of Bene, 2012 Figue 2 Map of Huascaán National Pak (HNP), highlighting the pak & Wold Heitage Aea boundaies. Design: Elias Hodel & Rodne Gaad Hot ice Despite thei seemingl emote locations, glacies have advanced to the cente of climate change discouse on eve continent, not onl about the science of climate change but also about issues such as sustainable development, envionmental management, wateshed potection, egional and global economics, the ole of potected natual aeas and eligion and cultual hei tage. While advances have been made in the phsical monitoing, and thus in scientific knowl- edge of glacies woldwide, we know elativel little about how divese people espond when glacies eteat a thousand metes, how the gieve when melting ice tigges a catastophic flood o landslide and what the peceive as the best o pehaps the onl acceptable wa to potect thei wate esouces. In fact, the actual was in which people gapple with envionmental changes (o don t) often matte moe than science.

3 Rodne Gaad 37 Inca pipelines Some of the geatest glacial catastophes of the 20 th centu have oaed down fom the Codillea Blanca. In one incident in 1970, moe than people wee killed in a single debis flow that stated when a chunk boke off the face of a lage eteating glacie, tiggeed b an eathquake (Kase & Osmaston 2002). Such events ae etched in the collective memoies of the local esidents. The mountain ange is Peu s highest and most glaciated, unning 180 kilometes noth to south and paallel to the non-glaciated Codillea Nega (Black Mountains) to the west. These two anges do not oll gentl into each othe acoss the hoizon; athe, the collide into each othe and towe damaticall into the sk, falling steepl to ceate a valle fa below whee the Santa Rive flows south to noth. This snake-like elentless nothwad flow has been the egion s lifeline fo centuies. 70% of the Codillea Blanca s meltwate dains into the Santa Rive, suppoting extensive agicultue as well as livestock fo aound half a million people who inhabit the valles and upland slopes suounding this ange. The include the inhabitants of the povincial town of Huaaz (3 091 m with an estimated population of ~ people), which is the wold s lagest cit in such close poximit to glaciated mountains. Moe ecentl, the Codillea Blanca has povided these villages with hdoelecticit as well as hopes of attacting touists to one of Peu s pooest aeas with the ceation of Huascaán National Pak (NP) in The NP coves the whole of the Codillea Blanca above m (equivalent to km² including the buffe zone). The glaciologists who have pioneeed was to stud and dain dangeous glacial lakes fo the last seven decades also became the advocates fo the ceation of Huascaán NP (Cae 2008), designed as much fo encouaging touism as fo peseving natue. Toda, no othe glaciated mountain ange in Peu and thee ae 19 othes, cowned b a total of glacies matches the amount of touist taffic in the Codillea Blanca. 50 eas ago, nobod but the locals ventued to the local canons. Toda, a shephed in Huascaán NP is moe likel to meet a glaciologist o a touist than a fellow shephed. Local livelihoods The mountain people of the Codillea Blanca lead vetical livelihoods, sas Jeffe Bu, associate pofesso of envionmental studies at the Univesit of Califonia, Santa Cuz (Bu pes. com. 2009). Fo centuies, the have taken advantage of eve ecological niche. The gow cops in valles, sometimes ight to the edge of glacies, and gaze lamas and alpacas on bleak mountain tops. With moe than 60 peaks that ise above metes, including the count s highest summit (Huascaán m), it is eas to undestand wh the people living in and below Huascaán NP Figue 3 Climbes appoaching the summit of Chopicalqui (6 345 m). Rodne Gaad have long woshipped these loft summits which ae the beginnings of countless ivulets that fom steams that then flow into ives fa below, poviding dinking wate and keeping thei subalpine pastues alive. The aveage Peuvian is steeped in a eligion that peaches heav emphasis on the hand of god; the peaks of the Codillea Blanca ae not thee to climb but to woship as the abode of poweful deities. The Inca soveeigns eveed these mountain spiits, making eal pilgimages to the glacieized peaks (Regalado 2005). Such eveence still exists among local esidents, although toda it no longe takes the fom of sacificing ouths and maidens to appease the wath of the mountain spiits. But toda the wa of life fo these ual mountain people is changing because of wame tempeatues, in lage pat due to climate change, that shift cops up mountain sides and affect the seasonal un-off fom the glacies. Wate in the d season comes almost exclusivel fom glacies. As Bu outlines, local esidents ae alead being foced to adapt: The have enough to dink, but it s affecting agicultue, gazing, lake levels and fish in the ive. The e concened. (Bu pes. com. 2009). The also epot thei distess that the white summits of the neab peaks ae becoming dak efeing to the Codillea Blanca as sick and demented. Even the Pope ecentl declaed glacie eteat in the Andes a seious humanitaian and eligious issue (Cae 2010). In othe pats of the wold, the sense of identification with glacie-coveed peaks, though not phased in tems of spiits but in tems of social distinction, is still ve stong. Wold Heitage Aea on thin ice Lonnie Thomson, pofesso of geogaph at the School of Eath Sciences at Ohio State Univesit, has been documenting glacial ecession in the Cental Andes since the late 1980s. He sas that the situation in

4 38 Management & Polic Issues Figue 4 Cit of Huaaz (3 091 m) (~ population) in Rio Santa lle, Codillea Blanca. Backgound: Huascaán National Pak. Esthe Hegglin Huascaán NP toda is ve alaming (Thomson pes. com. 2009). The Codillea Blanca has lost 27% of its glacie coveage since 1970 (187 km²), and 11% of this loss occued in the six eas between 1997 and The eteat of these glacies povides eminentl useful infomation fo the cuent discussion on climate change. Howeve, these tends ae eal and immediate to the esidents living in and aound Huascaán NP. Most of these people have lived beneath these glacies thei entie lives the can point to whee the glacie was when the wee childen, and now the ice is disappeaing, sas Jeffe Bu (pes. com. 2009). The esidents of Huascaán NP, like so man othe ual mountain people aound the wold, have the unfotunate distinction of being at the foefont of the impacts of climate change, which might be temed a naative of victimhood the people diectl affected b glacie eteat passivel suffe the actions of othes. The make a ve small diect contibution to the woldwide emissions of geenhouse gases that ae the oot cause of climate change and ae the futhest emoved fom the decision-making pocess (Adge et al. 2001). Melting glacies ae not the onl concen fo the ual people of this egion, sas Alton Bes of The Mountain Institute. These people s livelihoods ae being futhe squeezed b othe issues, including the loss of citical vegetative coveage, ovegazing of alpine and subalpine pastues, concentated touism, govenment polices suppotive of esouce extaction, paticulal within the national pak, and subsequent extenal pessues such as new oads, mining and hdopowe pojects, and this is ceating a lot of tension in the suounding communities (2009). Yet, Huascaán NP is stictl potected, the equivalent of catego II in the Intenational Union fo Consevation of Natue (IUCN) definitions of potected aeas, and the pak was declaed a UNESCO Biosphee Reseve in 1977 and a Wold Natual Heitage Site in Paticipato potection The issues descibed above b Bes ae neithe a local Peuvian phenomenon no esticted to mountain egions in developing counties: the occu in man pats of the wold and aise the question of whethe moe effective potection of mountain egions in geneal is necessa. Howeve, to achieve effective consevation and sustainable development in potected mountain aeas, the social, economic and envionmental benefits of an intevention need to be maximized and the costs minimized. These effots will also need to be based on paticipato pocesses with local esidents o the will be doomed to failue. To date, the communities suounding Huascaán NP have been compaativel neglected in the national development agenda, with no consideation of the gowing isks and inceased vulneabilit to the impacts of climate change. Aitza Monasteio Bilbao, mountain guide and diecto of Andinista Adventues a small touism opeato based in Huaaz, sas, Residents suounding the pak think this aea [Huascaán NP] is simpl an idea fom wealth counties, meaning the pak is basicall a plagound fo foeignes. The esent the status of the pak, sas Bilbao, and ae often opposed to the [pak s] egulations (pes. com. 2009). Given that esidents live in the pak s buffe zone, this is a concen. Opposite inteests In Huaaz, the cit that povides most of the touism infastuctue fo Huascaán NP, esidents value the pak as a means of gaining income fom touists and man want to see the pak continue to be developed as paks ae in the US, with shopping acades, ski lifts, cafes and luxu hotels often efeed to as the Yosemite model of potected aeas. Thee is also a goup of potectionists who ae often futhe emoved fom the pak s esouces all ea ound. The see the NP s main pupose as conseving biodivesit and natual esouces, as well as potecting the pak fom moe mining and hdoelectic pojects. Of couse, the viewpoints ae moe divese than I have outlined hee, but m point is that the esidents in close vicini t of Huascaán NP have competing desies, some of which ae contovesial, and man ae at odds with

5 Rodne Gaad 39 the pak s consevational and sustainable development ealities. We must also take into consideation Peu s ecent tansfomation into a neolibeal, mineal-based, expot-oiented count and the fact that its political institutions ae aligned with this new ideolog. Socio-political instabilit The Codillea Blanca has long been blessed and cused with wate esouces. On the one hand, the massive glacies and multitude of glacial lakes epesent a majo esouce fo clean wate as well as touism and hdoelectic powe geneation which ae the env of suounding counties. On the othe, climate change is alteing the hthm and amount of available wate and causing new natual hazads. But the wate cisis in the Codillea Blanca is not simpl a matte of scacit. Povet, powe and inequalit ae also at the heat of the poblem. As globalization eaches the fa cones of the wold, the pivatization of wate in the egion has engendeed numeous conflicts which will onl incease with ve poweful mining and expotled agicultual inteests as the new elite actos. Unfotunatel, the indigenous Quechua-speaking mountain people of the egion ae cases of double exposue in which local esidents ae subject to the impacts and events linked to climate change as well as the tansfomative pocesses of globalization. At the time I was in Huaaz, thee was a egional stike due to local esidents contesting wate ights. Such untenable attempts to pivatize wate spaked two months of potests in Jul 2009 that esulted in injuies to people and damage to infastuctue. Climate change and foests On ou cuent path of climate change thinking, it seems as though pak authoities cannot do much about the egion s topical glacies an diect localized mitigation effot is onl going to be shot-tem. You see this intenationall; ski esots fom Switzeland to Bitish Columbia ae inceasingl eling on atificial snow-making and even cove glacies with snthetic white tapaulin to pevent the melting of valuable ski teain (BBC 2007). Tellingl, it was onl thee geneations ago in Euope when the same populations used to send thei piests up to the glacies to pa to God to stop them encoaching futhe down the valle. But what pak authoities in Huascaán NP can do is buffe the impacts of climate change b estoing and potecting the foests, gassland and alpine ecosstems in the uppe eaches of the pak. Fo example, the pak s emaining quenual foests (a Pollepis species) cove a mee emnant of thei fome ange, most likel because of acceleated logging since colonial times, sas Alton Bes (Bes pes. com. 2009). The estoation of these quenual foests would esult in coole envionments, bette infiltation and stoage of wate, highe biodivesit and moe niches fo vulneable Figue 5 A Quechua woman tending he potato cops, Codillea Blanca. Quechua fames have used these same agicultual methods fo centuies. Floencia Zapata plants and animals. Fo much of the Santa Rive lle and aeas suounding Huascaán NP, the dominant secto of the econom is agicultue. This poduction is lagel dependent on the availabilit of iigation wate. Reduced wate availabilit, coupled with the incease in tempeatue in most pats of the Codillea Blanca, will equie massive adaptation in upsteam as well as downsteam locations. I do not want to ceate the omantic notion that the Incas wee ecologicall sound, but a quick suve of Inca geogaph eveals caefull cultivated stone aqueducts constucted ove 500 eas ago that still ca wate undeniable evidence of sensible planning of long ago. So, what is ou ole as visitos? Unless we undestand the socio-economic envionment acoss which we ae taipsing with ou highaltitude equipment and cameas, and show some eal tact, we theaten the dignit of the poo communities that we pass though. With cae and pepaation, we can stat to undestand the causes of povet and leave moe behind than ubbish and a begga mentalit. We can minimize ou impacts and maximize the benefits of ou visit b suppoting communit-based consevation and livelihood pojects. Fo example, the Alpine Consevation Patneship s (ACP) ole in Huascaán NP has measuabl impoved the alpine gassland in the Ishinca and Pisco lles. The ACP is a locall based joint ventue between the Mountain Institute and the Ameican Alpine Club. Such communit-based pojects ae ke elements, not onl in consevation gains fo the egion, but the also pla a vital ole in developing adaptive capacit. Lastl, we must pomote thinking and get involved in how pa-

6 40 Management & Polic Issues ticipato consevation that is in touch with local concens and ealities can be an integal pat of potected mountain aeas planning in the nea futue this is citical fo successfull dealing with the effects of climate change. Acknowledgment In Jul 2009, I attended the confeence: Adapting to a Wold without Glacies: ealities, challenges and actions in Lima / Huaaz. The confeence gatheed leading scientists fom glaciolog, geogaph, esouce management and elated fields to discuss the latest eseach on mountain glacie meltings and the consequent effects on downsteam egions. Comments in this aticle ae taken fom discussions at this wokshop. I thank Lonnie G. Thompson, Alton Bes, Jeffe Bu and Aitza Monasteio Bilbao fo thei comments. Fo me, the time spent in Huascaán NP duing the confeence evealed a glaing gap between the existence of pak egulations and the ealit of implementation on the gound, and aleted me to the need fo adaptation policies fo those most vulneable. Thankfull, this gap in knowledge is stating to get the attention it deseves, fo unless we ovecome that gap, polic aimed at minimizing human costs cannot be fomulated. Refeences Adga, W.N., T.A. Benjaminsen, K. Bown & H. Svastad Advancing political ecolog of global envionmental discouses. Development and Change 32: BBC Cloak potects glacie fom sun. Avail able at: (accessed: 17/06/07) BBC Media attacked fo climate pon. Available at: (accessed: 01/08/09) Bosdof, A. & C. Stadel Peu Wold heitage aea melts im Pofil. Landeskundliche Beobachtungen auf eine geogaphischen Exkusion inngeo 10 Innsbucke Mateialien zu Geogaphie 10. Innsbuck. Bes, A.C A compaative stud of touism impacts on alpine ecosstems in the Sagamatha (Mt. Eveest) National Pak, Nepal and the Huascaán National Pak, Peu. In: Hill, J. & T. Gale (eds.), Ecotouism and Envionmental Sustainabilit. London. Cae, M The Histo of Ice: How Glacies Became an Endangeed Species. Envionmental Histo 12 (3): Cae, M The Politics of Place: Inhabiting and defending glacie hazads in Peu s Codillaea Blanca, In: von Benjamin, S., E. Olove, B. Wiegandt & H. Luckman (eds.), Dakening Peaks: Glacial eteat, science and societ. Cae, M In the Shadow of Melting Glacies: Climate Change and Andean Societ. Galvin M. & T. Halle (eds.) People, Potected Aeas and Global Change: Paticipato Consevation in Latin Ameica, Afica, Asia and Euope. Pespectives of the Swiss National Cente of Competence in Reseach (NCCR) Noth-South. Jungmeie, M., I. Paul-Hon, D. Zollne, F. Bosdof, K. Gasenick, S. Lange & B. Reutz-Honsteine Biosphee eseves as a long-tem intevention in a egion stategies, pocesses, topics and pinciples of diffeent paticipative planning and management egimes of biosphee eseves. eco.mont 3 (1). Kase, G. & H. Osmaston (eds.) Topical Glacies. Cambidge. Lange, S Biosphee eseves in the mountains of the wold and thei standing afte 40 eas of UNESCO s MAB Pogamme. eco.mont 3 (1). Regalado, A The Ukukus Wonde Wh a Saced Glacie Melts in Peu s Andes; It could potend wold s end, so mountain woshippes ae stewading the Ice. Wall Steet Jounal. Easten Edition. June 17, A.1. Vuille, M., G. Kase & I. Juen Glacie mass balance vaiabilit in the Codillea Blanca, Peu and its elationship with climate and the lage-scale ciculation. Global and Planeta Change 62 (1 2): Autho Rodne Gaad is a Ph.D. Candidate at the Cente fo Development and Envionment (CDE), Univesit of Ben, Switzeland. His dissetation is exploing landscape dnamics in the Eveest egion, Nepal: Rodne is also a membe of the UIAA Mountain Potection Commission; IUCN WCPA Touism and Potected Aeas Goup and IUCN s Wold Commission on Potected Aeas (WCPA). odne.gaad@cde.unibe.ch