Food Production and Climate Resilience in Peru: Past, Present and Future

About the British Academy Knowledge Frontiers Grant

Agricultural field, Cordillera Blanca (top); Modern reservoir, Cordillera Negra (upper middle); Soil sampling, Cordillera Negra (lower middle); Pre-hispanic dam, Cordillera Negra
  • Activities completed in 2019
  • Fieldwork in the Cordillera Blanca. Based in the town of Yungay, we undertook semi-structured discussions with individual members of communities and collected water and soil samples from representative sites in several river valleys, and made in-situ measurements of water flow (rivers and canals), infiltration rates, moisture content and water quality. We collected sediment core samples and completed depth surveys of bofedales.
  • We hosted a workshop in the city of Huaraz (capital of Ancash) at Universidad Nacional Santiago Antúnez de Mayolo. The workshop was attended by community members from the Cordillera Blanca, NGO Asociación Andina Cusichaca, Instituto Nacional de Investigación en Glaciares y Ecosistemas de Montaña (Ministry of Environment) to discuss the challenges and opportunities, and adaptive strategies to climate change.
  • Fieldwork in the Cordillera Negra. Based in the village of Pamparomas, we conducted two workshops with members of local communities and NGO Junta de Desarrollo de Pamparomás to discuss the challenges and opportunities, and adaptive strategies to climate change, and hosted a meeting with NGO ECLOSIO (University of Liège). We undertook semi-structured discussions with individual members of communities. We collected water and soil samples from representative sites in several river valleys, and made in-situ measurements of water flow (rivers and canals), infiltration rates, moisture content and water quality. We collected sediment core samples and completed depth surveys of bofedales.
  • We hosted a workshop in the city of Huaraz (capital of Ancash) at the Ministry of Culture. The workshop was attended by community members from the Cordillera Blanca and Cordillera Negra, NGO Asociación Andina Cusichaca, Autoridad Nacional del Agua (Ministry of Environment),  Instituto Nacional de Investigación en Glaciares y Ecosistemas de Montaña (Ministry of Environment).
  • We were invited to give a presentation to staff and students about the project at Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú in Lima.
  • We were invited to give a presentation to staff and students about the project at Universidad Nacional Federico Villarreal in Lima.