Outlook on climate change adaptation in the Tropical Andes mountains

CASE STUDY

Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA) in the Nor Yauyos Cochas Landscape reserve, in the Peruvian Andes

In the high mountains of Peru, an Ecosystem based Adaptation (EbA) pilot project was implemented. This is an innovative approach which protects ecosystems as a means to adapt to climate change. The project was implemented in the Nor Yauyos Cochas Landscape Reserve (NYCLR), located in the Lima and Junin departments (see image). Its main objective was to strengthen the country’s capacity to identify and implement climate change Ecosystem-Based Adaptation (EbA) measures, by developing the tools necessary for both implementation and monitoring. The Peruvian EbA pilot project supported local communities in developing sustainable livestock practices, including grassland management to prevent overgrazing by domesticated animals. This benefits natural grasslands, comprising bofedales (wetlands) and pajonal (puna grasslands), which are the NYCLR’s most extensive ecosystems. These ecosystems are the most pressured by livestock grazing, and are potentially the most seriously threatened by the adverse effects of climate change, according to the vulnerability assessment conducted as part of the project. The most important ecosystem services for the local community is providing pastures and water for livestock production - the major economic activity in the area. Other ecosystems services include fresh water provision and biodiversity preservation also for lowland communities.

As a result of measures taken by the communities, facilitated by the EbA programme, the mountain ecosystems now also provide economic benefits from the vicuña (vicugna vicugna), a wild camelid threatened by livestock overgrazing and spreading diseases. The vicuña is gathered in season in a communal effort to collect their wool before they are released back into the wild. It’s wool is one of the finest natural fibres in the world and is among the most expensive. Sustainable management of this resource therefore provides important revenue to the community, further enhancing its adaptive capacity and well-being. EbA measures implemented in the reserve: • Vicuña management for animal fiber (in Tanta and Tomas); • Community-based sustainable native grasslands management, including livestock management (in Tanta, Canchayllo and Miraflores); and • Community-basedsustainablewatermanagement, including (ancestral) hydric infrastructure, and wetland and grasslands restoration (in Canchayllo and Miraflores). The project has also made progress towards its aim to upscale EbA and to mainstream the concept in public policy. Through an initiative to foster the preparation of guidelines for public investments in biodiversity and ecosystem services, the project positioned EbA in the guidelines for public investment projects related to biodiversity and ecosystem services. These were recently released

jointly by the Ministry of Environment and the Ministry of Economy and Finance. The pilot project in NYCLR was part of the Ecosystem-based Adaptation Programme (EbA), which was a global initiative implemented by UNEP, UNDP and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), funded by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety. The World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC) also participated in this effort. These organizations cooperated with national governments to use the EbA approach. Mountain ecosystems and populations were particularly sensitive to the impacts of climate change, and hence are targeted by the EbA Programme. In addition to the project in Peru, experiences of EbA in mountains were being developed in the Himalayas in Nepal, and in the East African mountains on Mount Elgon in Uganda. In Peru, the programme was commissioned by theMinistry of Environment of Peru (MINAM) with the support of the National Service of Natural Protected Areas (SERNANP). The activities under IUCN’s responsibility were implemented in partnership with The Mountain Institute (TMI) in the communities of Canchayllo and Miraflores.

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