Outlook on climate change adaptation in the Tropical Andes mountains
Roseau
Retreating glaciers Glaciers, recognized as a good indicator of climate change due to their sensitivity to temperature increase, are already experiencing its drastic effects. Climate change is expected to cause increased melting in the future, especially for tropical glaciers (Rabatel et al., 2013) such as those in the Tropical Andes, which range from about 4,000 to 6,500 m altitude. To date, melting has been most prominent in small and low-lying glaciers. The significant melting of tropical glaciers is possibly due to high radiation and moist tropical climate dynamics (Ibid.). Beyond the direct warming of the glaciers by air temperature, precipitation falling as rain instead of snow contributes to melting by reducing the albedo of the glacier surfaces. El Niño events are also associated with reduction in glacier mass, due to the higher temperature and reduced precipitation (Francou et al., 2003; Jeschke, 2009). The Andes contains 99 per cent of the world’s tropical glaciers (Chevallier et al., 2010). This amounts to 0.8 per cent of the world’s glacial area (not including Antarctica) (NCIDS, 2008). The remaining tropical glaciers are located in Africa and New Guinea, with a total area of less than 10 km². The total area of glaciers in the Tropical Andes was 1,920 km² about 10 years ago (Francou and Vincent, 2007), with 71 per cent in Peru, 20 per cent in Bolivia, 4 per cent in Ecuador, and 4 per cent in Colombia-Venezuela (Rabatel et al., 2013). The overall area of glaciers in the Tropical Andes has diminished further since 2007. Glaciers in the Tropical Andes FIGURES
The Tropical Andes eco-regions
Castries
Caracas
VENEZUELA
COLOMBIA
FRENCH GUIANA
SURINAME
Bogota
GUYANA
Equator
Quito
Xeric and seasonally dry montane forest Evergreen montane forest
ECUADOR
PERU
Other forest ecosystems
Grassland ecosystems of the Yungas Puna ecosystems
Shrubs Páramo ecosystems
BRAZIL
Water body Glacier Exposed soil Desert and other xeric ecosystems
Cultural landscape
Lima
BOLIVIA
La Paz
Sucre
PARAGUAY
Tropic of Capricorn
Source: CONDESAN
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