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Climate Adaptation in Mountain Basins In the Andean Region (CAMBIAR)
Project Leads: Elliott Gall, Laura Read, and Fernando Salas
Meeting Time: Wednesdays, 7:30 pm in ACES 2.402
Contact: peru@ewbgreateraustin.org
Background
Only 2% of Peru’s natural water resources are stored in the country’s Western Andes, where approximately 70% of the population resides. This natural disparity is coupled with extreme vulnerability to climate variability due to reliance on tropical glacial melt and seasonal precipitation, and has forced ~12 million poor, indigenous communities in rural Peru to address water quality and availability issues in the region. Three communities (~18,000 people) located in the Santa River basin, a main river fed by the central Andean glaciers, have taken a proactive approach to addressing water and climate issues by forming a common entity, the Tres Cuencas Commonwealth. In a collaborative effort with the locally run non-profit The Mountain Institute (TMI), EWB-Greater Austin (EWB-AUS) will partner with the Tres Cuencas Commonwealth to implement new technologies and conservation practices that address the water challenges facing the area and that help communities adapt to climate variability.
The Need
Approximately 18,000 residents of the Tres Cuencas Commonwealth are struggling to provide food for their families as a result of climate variations affecting their agricultural productivity. It has been well documented that the climate variability in this area has led to shorter and less reliable rainy seasons, resulting in significant water shortages during the dry seasons. These communities need technical solutions through which they can store water and utilize it more efficiently. In addition, natural heavy metal contamination in the rocks of Santa River tributaries prevents the use of stream water for agriculture or potable use for downstream communities. Tres Cuencas is also seeking low-cost solutions for treating this water to use for irrigation and land maintenance.
