The Hindu Kush Himalayan (HKH) and the Andes mountain regions are critical sources of freshwater resources yet the HKH region is one of the most vulnerable regions due to climate change impacts on local water resources. As global temperatures rise, the glaciers in the region will continue to melt and water availability is compromised. In Peru, melting glaciers, as well as erratic rainfalls, are threatening water availability for agriculture, livestock management, and drinking in the communities.
Ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA) projects offer potential solutions to improve the quality, quantity and resilience of water resources, which mountain communities depend on.
This is one of the conclusions of a study conducted by three graduate students (Tiffany Mayville, Claudia Sanchez de Lozada, and Krista Shennum) from the Yale School of Environment.
Community members and civil society practitioners interviewed for the study described how EbA projects support traditional agriculture and water management practices. A community-based organization representative from Nepal noted, “Climate change is directly impacting water resources…Communities are building more ponds and making them bigger in order to collect more water for the community. EbA projects have helped in increasing the number [and size] of ponds.”
Their study assessed two priority knowledge gaps identified in the context of the
Lima Adaptation Knowledge Initiative (LAKI), with a focus on EbA and water resources in the in Nepal and Peru covering HKH and Andean subregions, respectively. Findings revealed five challenges and lessons learned as well as three good practices for both sub regions.
“Ecosystem-based adaptation has the potential to address the impacts of climate change on natural resources, biodiversity, and communities through conservation, sustainable management, and restoration of ecosystems and ecosystem services. Successful practices can provide social, economic, climatic, and environmental benefits to local communities,” Krista Shennum explains.
Methodology:
This study followed desk research on ecosystem-based adaptation projects, climate adaptation planning, and climate impacts, and was complemented with virtual interviews with policy makers, government actors, representatives from civil society organizations, and community members located in these regions. NWP partner organizations
The Mountain Institute (TMI) and the
International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), guided the technical components of the study and facilitated the identification of relevant stakeholders at the local level.
By collecting first-hand accounts from individuals and groups that have benefited from EbA projects, the report aims to facilitate knowledge exchange around water adaptation practices and technologies between local communities and state and national actors through the lens of EbA.
The project builds on a
previous capstone project conducted by Yale students in Peru in 2020. The previous project resulted in outcomes which facilitated the implementation of a compensation mechanism for ecosystem services by the water company of coastal Canete and the Nor Yauyos-Cochas Landscape Reserve in Peru. Driven by the positive responses, Florencia Zapata from the TMI stated,
“our plan is, as soon as the EbA project resumes, to develop a policy brief in Spanish for further spreading and get evidence on the impact of the study.”
Key findings:
The study revealed five challenges and lessons learned in Peru and Nepal:
- Political processes such as political turmoil, government restructuring, and conflicting priorities amongst policymakers often act as an obstacle to implementing EbA projects.
- Finance, including international adaptation aid and internal budgetary priorities is insufficient to meet climate adaptation needs.
- Sector siloing, which focuses on single-sector impacts of a policy or project with little regard to downstream effects can be challenging as adaptation projects focus only on one sector instead of taking a multi-sectoral approach.
- Top-down implementation from central and national government bodies who push for projects without adequate consultation with local communities might risk missing the mark in terms of what communities need.
- One-size-fits-all approaches fail to account for different micro-climatic conditions, topologies, or land management histories by not ensuring that the needs and potential impacts projects or policies are assessed for each community.
The students also identified three good practices in this context:
- Community involvement in water resource management strengthen bottom-up planning and implementation and enables to better understand the local conditions and develop a long-lasting partnership with the communities.
- Prioritizing holistic approaches in adaptation projects is helpful to consider every component in the design and implementation of a solution.
- Increasing financing for climate adaptation and enhancing access to adaptation funds is critical to implement EbA projects.
More information:
The project was undertaken in the context of the UN Climate Change and Universities Partnership Programme. The partnership programme fosters collaboration between graduate students and Nairobi Work Programme (NWP) partners for joint efforts on adaptation projects across the globe.
Read more about the project in the case study on the AKP
here.
Find out more about the UN Climate Change and Universities Partnership Programme
here.
Picture credits: Krista Shennum