Tropentag, September 19 - 21, 2012 in Göttingen "Resilience of agricultural systems against crises"

Challenges Presented by Climate Change in the Andean Region: Land Use Cover Change and Adaptive Response of Small Farmers

¹Technische Universität Dresden, Inst. of Forest Growth and Forest Computer Sciences, Germany
²Technische Universität Dresden, Inst. of International Forestry and Forest Products, Germany
³University of Bangor, School of Environment, Natural Resources and Geography, United Kingdom

Abstract

For people living in the Andean Mountains, climatic change is not a problem of the future - they already face the effects. The Andean region of Peru is bearing the consequences of climate change, such as retreat of glaciers and extreme weather events, which are increasingly affecting the livelihoods of small local farmers and increasing the vulnerability of the farm systems they depend on.

This paper presents the first results of the “International Network on Climate Change in the Andean Region (INCA)” project. The INCA is a scientific network specialised on climate change that seeks to understand the situation of local farming and forestry systems in the Andean Region, deriving and testing livelihood strategies for farming systems and indigenous communities.

First results of the INCA project, based on research in the Achamayo Watershed in Peru, include: a) A study of the perception of local people towards the development of climate over the last 10 years. b) An analysis via satellite images and field research on land use cover/change since 1921. c) An assessment of the adaptation strategies available and used by small-scale farmers.

Project results show that farmers are well aware of the ongoing changes in weather patterns, signaling the occurrence of frosts and heavy rainfall as main causes of agricultural loss. The decrease of water springs during dry season was reported to have a direct impact on the livestock which rely on natural grasslands as main fodder source. The analysis of land use cover change supported this former statement, reporting severe grasslands degradation, with 21.26% decrease of the “high density grassland” land cover since 1921. Concrete strategies to forecast, disperse and mitigate the climatic risk were identified.

Ongoing research within the INCA project applies modelling techniques for assessing the development of farming systems under potential climate change scenarios and the consequences of the resulting land use mosaics on economical utilities (food security and income) and environmental services.

Keywords: Adaptation, Andean Region, climate change, land use, land use cover change, small farmers

Contact Address: Mariana Vidal Merino, Technische Universität Dresden, Inst. of Forest Growth and Forest Computer Sciences, Institut Für Waldwachstum und Forstliche Informatik Postfach 1117, 01735  Tharandt, Germany, e-mail: marianavidalforst.tu-dresden.de