CCAP: Climate Change Adaptation Plan in Peru
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Climate
Change will affect water resources in Peru (Foto: SDC)
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Background
Climate change has
had particularly devastating effects on the quality and quantity of water
resources in Peru’s High Andean Plateau. The same scenario can be seen for
other natural resources such as crops, which provide a source of nutrition for
rural populations: more frequent and intensified extreme weather conditions
threaten to compromise past development funding and achievements. In the
Peruvian Andes, the regions of Cuzco and Apurimac are exposed to extreme
climate conditions: frost, hail, heavy snowfall, cold waves and drought, all
causing considerable damage and destroying crops that serve as a vital food
source for already undernourished populations. Faced with this alarming
situation, Peru’s CCAP seeks to reduce climate vulnerability for the local
populations of Cuzco and Apurimac. Focusing on water resources, disaster
prevention and food security, the PACC combines local and scientific knowledge
in a resolutely transdisciplinary fashion in order to identify the most
suitable adjustment measures.
The Project
Network
CCAP is a joint project of the Swiss
Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), the Swiss Foundation for
Development and International Cooperation (Intercooperation), two corresponding
organizations in Peru (Libelula and PREDES), and a bi-national scientific
consortium. The Swiss research consortium is comprised of the University of
Zurich, the Federal Office of Meteorology and Climatology MeteoSwiss, Agroscope
Reckenholz-Tänikon Research Station ART, University Geneva, Meteodat, and
WSL/SLF.
Our Contribution to CCAP
Our main focus within CCAP
is to analyze the link between climate and the water cycle: how will climate
change affect the water resources and their availability e.g. for agriculture
and power production? Part of our analysis will be based on numerical
simulations with our hydrological models that will be set-up for the regions of
Cuzco and Apurimac. These allow turning
climate change scenarios into predictions with respect to the future water
resources in Peru.
AndesPlus
AndesPlus is part of the project "Adaptation to the Impacts of Rapid Glacier Retreat in the Tropical Andes" (PRAA) of the Andean Community and the World Bank and aims to develop and investigate methods that are feasible for producing scientific bases for climate change adaptation projects in mountain regions.
In addition, an information platform is being built on the topics of climatology, water resources, food security, risk management, vulnerability and adaptation to climate change. The Research Unit Mountain Hydrology and Mass Movements is responsible for the thematic area 'water resources' in this project.
The project is a collaboration between various research institutions in Switzerland and abroad (University of Zurich, MeteoSwiss, Meteodat, WSL, Agroscope ART and the University of Geneva, the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), the 'Instituto de Geofisico del Perú' (IGP) and the 'Instituto de Hidrología, Meteorología and Estudios Ambientales, Colombia' (IDEAM).
Further Information
Team
- Massimiliano Zappa
- Norina Andres
Contact
