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Current and projected changes in precipitation,
floods, droughts, and glacier melt all bring with them
a number of key climate-related risks (identified
in Chapter 1), including conflict and political and
social unrest over water supply, decreased quality
and quantity of water supply, and reduced capacity of
mountains to provide water for drinking, sanitation,
industries, mining, agriculture and energy.
All Andean countries have developed policies
to tackle floods and droughts. These policies are
developed by different sectors depending on the
impacts. For multi-sector responses, reactive logic
over prevention generally prevails. For instance, the
transport and housing sectors normally respond
when floods destroy infrastructure (e.g. bridges,
roads and towns), while measures from the energy
sector address the effects of flooding on power
plants. The agricultural sector responds when floods
damage crops and livestock. Similarly, when floods
affect drinking water or people’s health, then it is
the health sector that responds. Additionally, floods
are also considered disasters and are attended to
by each country’s risk management agency. The
occurence of a strong ENSO in 2015/16 has triggered
responses ranging from cleaning the basins to
flood management programmes, from finishing the
school year early to prevention campaigns. Peru also
dropped the idea of hosting the Dakar Rally, alleging
possible impacts of El Niño in early 2016.
The water management policies of the tropical Andean
countries are chiefly guided by the Integrated Water
Resources Management approach (IWRM) (Garcia,
2008; Mulligan et al., 2010; Boelens, 2008) although
Water
this is not the only approach used.
52
IWRM promotes
the coordinated management of water, land and related
resources, to maximize economic and social welfare
equitably and without compromising the sustainability
of vital ecosystems (UNEP, 2009). However, in order
to manage water-related risks in a changing climate,
IWRM needs to be extended with respect to the risks
of climate change (Mulligan et al., 2010; Döll et al.,
2015). This extended approach incorporates knowledge
generation about potential risks and opportunities,
implementing adaptation measures and building
water management infrastructure. The countries have
implemented institutional arrangements for addressing
water-related risks, though their effectiveness has not
yet been tested.
Opportunities
Increasing water flow and/or precipitation in some
areas of the Tropical Andes may be beneficial if the
appropriate policies are in place. Policies should
promote research to understand impacts of a
wetter climate, and inform the creation of enabling
conditions to take advantage of such new conditions.
Unstable water supply and soaring demand are
leading to water conflicts. This represents an
opportunity for forward-looking planning, which
promotes a development model drawing on adaptive
institutions for addressing conflicts and on land uses
that are less demanding on water resources.
Policy gaps
• Insufficient institutional coordination capacities
among sectors threatened by water-related risks.
• Limited budget for early warning systems and
rehabilitation measures.
• Policies andmeasures are biased towards urban areas.
• Lack of mountain-specific focus.
Puya clava-herculis bromelia, Ecuador