The Outlook on climate change adaptation in the Tropical Andes mountains was launched today at a meeting of national experts from Andean countries who gathered to discuss regional responses to and priorities for climate change risks.
The report focuses on the Andes mountains in Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela. One in a series of reports on climate change effects in mountain regions around the globe, the Outlook recommended that adaptation strategies “build from existing traditional knowledge and strengthen women’s role.”
Andean mountain communities have been dealing with an adverse and changing environment since the mountains were first colonized more than 10,000 years ago, it says, and the people who live there have centuries of experience that complements current research and can be used for local adaptation action. It also states that women’s roles “should be strengthened by government.”
Including traditional knowledge in the design and implementation of mountain adaptation policies “has proved successful and should be further encouraged,” the report states. “Women have a profound knowledge of their environment and often play a greater role than men in the management of natural resources.”
The report was produced by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Norwegian based GRID-Arendal and the Consortium for Sustainable Development of the Andean Ecoregion (CONDESAN). It illustrates how countries of the Tropical Andes share mountain ecosystems and basins and thus face common climate change threats.
Other recommendations in the report include the need to address climate change threats to water, land, loss of biodiversity and ecosystems, food security and health. Governments should also expand measures to prevent and manage extreme events driven by climate change and improve coordination between Andean countries. As part of this they should share data and improve monitoring systems.
The report makes a strong case for urgent action: “By the end of this century, the coldest years in the Tropical Andes Mountains will be warmer than the warmest years to which humans and other species have adapted so far.”
The Outlook on the tropical Andes is the third publication in UNEP’s Mountain Adaptation Outlook series. These report contain a number of common findings, including the fact that climate change disproportionally threatens mountain areas. For example, climate change is changing the hydrology of the mountains threatening many subsistence farmers, and insect borne diseases, such as the zika virus and dengue fever, are found at higher altitudes. Adaptation to these climate hazards requires a long-term perspective including the protection of ecosystem services provided by mountains.
During the regional Andes meeting held today, government experts on mountain environments and climate change adaptation discussed an Andean strategic agenda for climate change adaptation in the mountains. The Outlook on the Tropical Andes served as a background document for the discussion.
The Outlook series applies the same methodology in all regions to facilitate comparison and knowledge exchange among the mountains ranges across the world. It features reports on the South Caucasus and the Western Balkans, East Africa, Central Asia, the Carpathians and the Hindu Kush Himalayas. UNEP and GRID-Arendal produce the series in cooperation with a regional mountain centres of excellence, such as CONDESAN in the Andes.
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