Impacts of Glacial Retreat in the Andes (PRAA)

Overview

As climate change accelerates glacial melting in the
Tropical Andes, millions of people in Bolivia, Ecuador and Peru face shortages of drinking water, changes in the way they farm, reductions in hydropower, and severe economic disruptions in populations that already suffer from pervasive poverty.

The PRAA project is working to ensure that the national and local governments in those countries adapt as well as is possible to the rapid glacial retreat by incorporating its  anticipated effects into their regional and local planning and economic development projects.

Researchers are creating impact maps and designing specific adaptation measures to help residents cope with their quickly changing ecosystems. Measures being implemented in pilot projects include such things as new watershed management practices and changes in  agricultural and livestock systems to allow water to be used more efficiently.

IIASA Research

IIASA researchers are developing, together with colleagues from the partner institutions, the methodology for creating comprehensive scientific  baselines that are critical for understanding the extent and speed of the ecological changes underway in those countries. 

Institute researchers are also working to strengthen the exchange of relevant technical information between science and policy institutions in Peru, Colombia, Ecuador, and  Bolivia.

Last edited: 22 June 2012