Outlook on climate change adaptation in the Tropical Andes mountains

The impact of climate change is a major long-

term threat to biodiversity in mountain regions

around the world. Nevertheless, information on

how climate change threatens biodiversity in

the Andean highlands is lacking. This includes

a lack of long-term observations suitable to

establish a baseline for comparison with the

predicted climate change impacts. To address

this need, the GLORIA Research Program

(Global Observation Research Initiative In

Alpine Environments) was established as a

global effort for long-term observation and

comparative study of climate change impacts on

highland biodiversity.

Through coordinated efforts of CONDESAN, the

General Secretariat of the Andean Community

(SGCAN) and several South American research

centres, the High Andes Biodiversity Monitoring

Network was created in 2010, in the framework of the

GLORIAGlobal Initiative.The objective of this network

is to provide technical assistance to operators of South

American sites, to ensure their sustainability in the

long term, and to produce regional outlooks aimed at

Monitoring climate change impacts on mountain biodiversity in the Andean Highlands (GLORIA-Andes)

supporting the design of adaptation measures and

policies under an ecosystem-based approach.

At present, the network has promoted the

establishment of 12 GLORIA sites in five

countries, which cover more than 5000 km from

the EasternAndes of Colombia, through Ecuador,

Peru and Bolivia, to the Argentinean highlands at

the limit of the Tropical Andes Ecoregion. Along

this huge area, more than 800 vascular species are

monitored, making it the biggest biodiversity and

climate change research network in the Andes.

CASE STUDY

Grasslands and the Sincholagua Volcano, Ecuador