Perú: Mountain Country

This week marks the publication of Perú: Mountain Country, a bilingual study on the affects of climate change on the Cordilleras of Perú.

Produced by Perú’s Ministry of Environment (MINAM), and written in both Spanish and English, the report provides a storyboard capturing how environmental change is affecting the lives of people at a local level. Told through personal stories and testimonies, the study highlights challenges faced by Andean communities and the ways in which people are adapting to the profound changes happening around them.

With beautiful images throughout, the report also charts the incredibly rich natural and cultural diversity of the Perúvian Andes. The report beautifuly captures faces, lifestyles and landscapes and also points to a number of policy changes, proposals and new ways of thinking.

The Cordilleras of Perú are home to 71% of the world’s tropical glaciers. These great ice stores supply 8,355 majestic glacial lakes which in turn provide the fresh water upon which 30 million people depend. The once mighty glaciers, which over thousands of years have provided for both Andean and Amazonian civilisations, are now retreating at an alarming pace. The affects are colossal.

The issues involved are so huge and complex that action to prevent catastrophe is and must be collaborative. There are a lot of people all over the world working hard in this area. We commend them – thank you.

Read the report here.

Written for Project Cordillera, Wednesday 18 February 2015