Fishing and farming in the desert'? A platform for understanding El Niño food system opportunities in the context climate change in Sechura, Peru
Lead Research Organisation:
University of St Andrews
Department Name: Geography and Sustainable Development
Abstract
Cyclical extreme rainfall events, such as those generated by the El Niño in South America, can cause devastation through flooding in low and middle income countries, particularly in Peru, a country that is intimately linked to climate phenomena associated with the El Niño-Southern Oscillation. It was Peruvian fishermen who first identified El Niño in the late 19th Century off the north coast of Peru. However, very little attention has been given to the opportunities these events can create for food systems, especially in the context of climate change in arid settings. This is particularly important because these events have the capacity to increase the amount of available freshwater and produce fertile sediment that fill river and lake floodplains. Our project will undertake the first systematic, interdisciplinary research on desert-El Niño-food systems in the Sechura Desert, northern Peru. The outputs from our research will have a bearing on how future challenges and opportunities associated with climate change, in particular El Niño in northern Peru, are imagined in academia and policy. It focuses attention on the less researched positive possibilities that El Niño events can generate in some contexts, which in northern Peru has significant implications for marginal desert-living communities, e.g. fishers and farmers who have so far been invisible in the popular narrative of disaster mitigation surrounding a strong El Niño event. Specifically, we will (a) deconstruct the climate history of the Sechura desert by integrating monitoring and lake sediment records of climate change; (b) examine human responses to El Niño through colonial and republican archives and generate oral histories of previous El Niño events; (c) evaluate contemporary food system practices through a mixed-method approach that looks at impact of climate variability on fish ecology and participatory mapping of fishing/farming practice and resources/markets; (d) identify challenges and opportunities for desert-El Niño-food systems by mapping social and economic development in the Sechura desert and contextualising this with newspaper archive analysis leading to future scenario planning.
Planned Impact
This project is of direct benefit to local government and Peruvian third sector NGO and private sector stakeholders in northern Peru engaged in dealing with the consequences of El Niño events in everyday life, politics, commerce and production. This includes its effects on farming and fishing, infrastructure, governance and social development. Peruvian project partners from NGOs, research institutions, local government and private industry will be equipped with the necessary information to become change makers within their respective sectors and communities. They will be able to take a lead role in helping to plan better for the future cyclical environmental shocks associated with El Niño events in the north of Peru. They will be able to recognise the potential benefits that the increased rains associated with climate change can potentially bring to managing foods systems in the desert. And will also be able to balance this against the, often unpredictable, costs and challenges that El Niño creates in subsistence and commercial food system economies, as they decide upon future priorities for their sectors.
By engaging a new cohort of young professionals in local government the project offers the chance for them to participate in developing blue print ideas for new strategies in the fields of production, education and inclusive development, through taking part in innovative cross disciplinary and cross sector action learning sets, that drill down to the local municipal level. At the same time the project remains engaged at a national and international level through its partnerships and collaborations with leading research institutions nationally and regionally in Peru, which are actively engaged in influencing policy on a national and regional level. These institutions will benefit from being able to use the research to raise their profile internationally by strengthening their role in national and international future scenario planning on food systems and climate adaptation.
By engaging a new cohort of young professionals in local government the project offers the chance for them to participate in developing blue print ideas for new strategies in the fields of production, education and inclusive development, through taking part in innovative cross disciplinary and cross sector action learning sets, that drill down to the local municipal level. At the same time the project remains engaged at a national and international level through its partnerships and collaborations with leading research institutions nationally and regionally in Peru, which are actively engaged in influencing policy on a national and regional level. These institutions will benefit from being able to use the research to raise their profile internationally by strengthening their role in national and international future scenario planning on food systems and climate adaptation.
Organisations
- University of St Andrews (Lead Research Organisation)
- PRISMA ONG (Collaboration)
- Newcastle University (Collaboration)
- Centro de Investigación y Promoción del Campesinado (CIPCA) (Collaboration)
- University of Piura (Collaboration)
- Fundación para el Desarrollo Agrario (FDA) (Collaboration)
- United Oceans S.A.C. (Project Partner)
- Foundation for Agrarian Development FDA (Project Partner)
- CIPCA (Project Partner)
- Benefits Association PRISMA (Project Partner)
| Title | Daniel Alcidez Carrion student videos. |
| Description | These videos were made to document testimonies by Daniel Alcidez Carrion school students about their experience doing interviews with their parents or grandparents in their plots of land in the middle of the desert. They also give an account of what they are planting thanks to the El Niño rains - the range of vegetables and animal feed. |
| Type Of Art | Film/Video/Animation |
| Year Produced | 2020 |
| Impact | These videos were used within the research team and were useful in identifying what could be improved for the next stage of the project, given that we were successful in securing additional AHRC impact funding. These videos also served as a resource for Daniel Alcides Carrion when entering the educational innovation competitions that the school won on both regional and national stages. |
| Description | The project website https://elninophenomenon.wp.st-andrews.ac.uk contains a fuller account of project outcomes. 1. Understanding the desert- El Niño-food nexus Climate History An interdisciplinary approach used diverse sources to establish the climate variability in the zone where the desert-El Niño-food system has operated over the long-term in the Sechura desert of northern coastal Peru. Covering the period 1300 until 2020, these sources ranged from historical records from the 16th century that reported unusual rainfall and other El Niño related disturbances, to natural records such as tree rings, ancient shorelines and sediments as well as more recent instrumental atmospheric records: Using historical records for the period 1525-1992, 107 events years were identified, using natural records for the period 1300-1979, 100 events were established and in instrumental records for the more recent period 1972-2020, 8 events were evident. This long timeline establishes the context for the further project findings about how the past can be used to understand the present and plan for the future based on how desert communities manage the El Niño phenomenon, and it related livelihoods (agriculture and fisheries) in living memory. Farming and fishing Localised geographical specificity is significant in determining whether El Niño represents an opportunity for agricultural productivity in desert food systems in Sechura. For the driest areas and most marginalised communities it can be of great benefit, whereas for other wetter districts, including those with irrigated lands, flooding causes significant losses. Even in the most badly affected lands, however, bounce-back can occur relatively quickly but formal financial mechanisms and credit lines need to be aligned with this expectation to enable farmers to take full advantage of the opportunity to plant and harvest again. Sea fishers move to temporary lagoons created in the desert by flooding when sea fishing and shell fishing decline because of El Niño. They use the same infrastructure (small fishing rafts and refrigerated lorries) and local neighbourhood and kinship networks to carryout fishing and access markets. Local residents, including farmers also take up fishing opportunities. Fisher camps operate at the lagoons for extended periods to extract and transport the catch directly to coastal town and city markets. Fish is used in domestic consumption and sold by family members locally. It is also salted in situ and transported to markets in mountain towns via kindship networks. The lagoons that form in the Sechura desert after an El Niño event can last up to 5 years before they dry out. Current regulations about the size of fish that can be caught are based on protocols set for sea fishing and are an obstacle to taking full benefit from the fish stocks in the lagoons. When the lagoons evaporate desiccated fish are gathered for fish meal, but extraction is difficult and the financial return poor. Catches of undersized fish are confiscated, and fines are imposed. Specific protocols for lagoon fishing and catch size are urgently required. Greater support is needed for lagoon fisher organisations to gain status as legal entities to take full advantage of the abundance of the fishing opportunities after an El Niño event. There is an unrealised demand from farmer and irrigation organisations in the Sechura desert to capture flooding river water and El Niño rainfall for use in agriculture and aquaculture. While local district and municipal government initiatives are responding to such an agenda (e.g. the Tapa de Cuy project - an earth reservoir construction), regional and national government plans are focusing on channelling flood waters directly out to sea. This situation is a significant point of tension. Nevertheless the voices of the those who make their livelihoods in the desert are largely only heard at the local level. More equitable citizen dialogue opportunities need to be created at and across the different scales of local, regional and national government to make the desert-El Niño-food system more sustainable longer term. 2. Interdisciplinary platform approach The research platform approach required multi-sectoral working. The project's partnerships with third sector organisations played an important role in accessing information, influencers and stakeholders and establishing protocols for working. A key element of success in the research process, especially under pandemic situations (see below), was that the approach of the lead NGO partner (PRISMA) was to work directly with government institutions, especially the Municipality and the Sechura School Board (UGEL). Because of this strategy a main achievement of the research was that research objectives and outcomes were able to engage with and where appropriate align with those of government institutions and agencies through on-going dialogue. Activities were programmed to fit in with annual work cycles to ensure that findings fed into successive rounds of planning and activities became fully integrated into work plans at all levels. Partnership working in this way opened up opportunities for wider dissemination through success in government sponsored prizes that raised the profile of the research team and collaborators and helped target the findings and outcomes more effectively to the relevant stakeholders and sectors. 3. COVID-19 Pandemic challenges and opportunities The ability to meet the original project objectives was greatly affected by the pandemic. Peru experienced the highest death rate anywhere in world from COVID-19 (estimated as excess deaths). Two project extensions were grated to the initial 18 months awarded. Nevertheless, the lasting impact of the pandemic affected the delivery of the original objectives and the project outcomes. Peru went into a first period of national lockdown on 15th March 2020 until the end of June 2020. Following this, restriction criteria varied by region, ranging from full lock down to lighter curfew and travel restrictions. This situation included Sechura where research was located. Return to more established patterns of work among the Peruvian partners and collaborators was uneven and the majority remained working from home through 2021 and into 2022. Universities and schools were closed to in person teaching. Given the project's reliance on partnerships with 5 distinct institutions the ability to achieve the research objectives was hampered and varied depending on the context of each institution. Working with the private sector under COVID-19: a fisheries outcome Working with the private sector, and especially with our named private sector partner was the area of research that was affected most by the pandemic. Fish processing ground to halt when large scale sea and shell fishing stopped. While costly biosecurity protocols were introduced, much of the formal commercial industry went into bankruptcy. This situation affected the project's ability to develop a blueprint for production, processing and commercialisation to take advantage of opportunities for making El Niño-desert-food systems and livelihood more sustainable. It was not possible to engage stakeholders in participative future scenario methodologies within the time frame of the project. However, the research team developed a new project to better understand the direct impact of the pandemic on artisanal fisheries' and to establish baseline data on sector resilience (GCRF_NF516 Increasing resilience in fishing communities to impacts of COVID-19 in northern Peru. This project devised an innovative interdisciplinary approach to gathering data and analysing value chains and was funded by the EPSRC see: https://elninophenomenon.wp.st-andrews.ac.uk/related-projects/ and https://redes-resiliencia.pe/en/resilience/ Working with the public sector - an education outcome The pandemic set the project on a new pathway in relation to the collection of intergenerational oral histories. In person data collection by the team was replaced by an innovative on-line story-telling methodology, developed with NGO partner PRISMA working with one of the schools in Sechura School Board (Daniel Alcides Carrión). The methodology was purposeful aligned with the national education COVID-19 response program "I work at home" targeting school children and worked strategically with the core communication competencies outlined in the Peruvian national curricula. This initiative opened up new ways of working that were recognised in the award of regional and national education prizes promoted by the Ministry of Education and then deepened in a follow-on AHRC Impact project (AH/V012215/1). The research blog "Delivering computer tablets to a rural area in northern Peru in times of a pandemic" (https://calacs.wp.st-andrews.ac.uk/2020/06/29/delivering-computer-tablets-to-a-rural-area-in-northern-peru-in-times-of-a-pandemic-oliver-calle-and-nina-laurie/) outlines the very practical challenges and dangers involved in facilitating this on-line curriculum initiative at this particular moment during the pandemic. Working in contexts where medical facilities were scarce and financially beyond the reach of many, Peruvian team members became ill with COVID-19 and collaborators died or had periods of critical illness. These tragic and emotionally draining circumstances were very challenging for everyone involved. It is important that these stories and contexts and the inequalities that they represent remain visible in future research on food systems and livelihoods across the globe. |
| Exploitation Route | Banks and financial institutions servicing farming and fishing clients can use these findings to help understand that bounce-back can occur relatively following an El Niño event in some context and that they need strategies attuned to the specificities of local needs to open timely lines of credit and support to enable farmers to take full advantage of the opportunity to plant and harvest again. Researchers can learn from a platform approach which opens up spaces for on-going critical dialogue with government institutions to ensure that outcomes shape and align with state planning cycles and plans of work. Large scale investment in rebuilding infrastructure in northern Peru i post the 2017 El Niño Costero is currently underway involving British corporate delivery partners. These actors could use the research to work with the different levels of the Peruvian government to create more equitable citizen dialogue opportunities to ensure that the desert-El Niño-food system and those who make their livelihoods in this way, have full representation at the planning and implementation stage of reconstruction projects. |
| Sectors | Agriculture, Food and Drink,Communities and Social Services/Policy,Construction,Education,Environment,Financial Services, and Management Consultancy,Government, Democracy and Justice,Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections |
| URL | https://elninophenomenon.wp.st-andrews.ac.uk |
| Description | Societal impact: Peru: i) Educational and secondary school student empowerment In March 2020 lockdown in Peru and the suspension of classes left student abandoned with no educational support. The digital divide affected non-metropolitan schools', like those in the Sechura desert, ability to engage on-line, adding to the challenge of ensuing "inclusive and equitable quality education" (SDG4). In response, working with NGO partner PRISMA, the project purchased computer tablets and data packages systems for the director, social studies teacher and 10 students (just under 10% of the secondary enrolment) in Instituto Educacional Daniel Alcides Carrión (IE DAC) secondary school. Intergenerational oral histories and participatory resource mapping with the students were originally planned to pilot different forms of data collection about desert - El Niño food. Instead, the project delivered a six-session, on-line curriculum around environmental storytelling. This focused on generating audio, visual and video material and building digital competency. It also built confidence and developed inter-generational communication and interview skills. In September the IE DAC staff presented their experience 'RECUST '(Recopilar, crear y utilizar storytelling' [collect, create and use storytelling']) at the Sechura School Board's Annual Education and Innovation Competition. They won first prize and this experience was shared live on line with the teachers in the School Board (UGEL: Unidad de Gestión Educativa) governing Sechura's 154 schools and 21,059 students. It was also shared with a general public UK audience as part of PI Laurie's Royal Geographical Society Monday Night Lecture. In December 2020 RECUST was one of 84 winners from among the 1,332 submissions to the annual National Education and Innovation Competition sponsored by the Fondo Nacional de Desarrollo de la Educación Peruana (FONDEP) https://www.fondep.gob.pe/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/151220_CNPIE-2020-LISTA-GANADORES-SEPARADO.pdf. In this setting, the experience was shared with teachers nation-wide in a pre-recorded video as well as a live on line interactive interview with IE DAC staff. It was subsequently used as an example best practice in public policy nationally in Peru by the Cuidados al Dia (today's citizens) awards process and by the Regional government of Piura in its 'Day of Excellence' for their contribution to the education sector in the region. ii) Building research capacity in the third sector: Through the co-development of successful follow-on research funding applications to the SFC GCRF and AHRC (total: approximately £500K+) non-academic partners PRISMA and CIPCA have been trained in research proposal development. Following the local elections at the end of 2022 findings were used for in person briefings with the new incoming local authorities (the Municipal Mayor for the Province of Sechura and the District Mayors in Bernal, Cristo Nos Valga) on how the project findings can help shape strategies for managing the El Nino phenomenon and promoting resilience. This was a timely set of briefings as heavy rains started to fall on coastal Peru in early March with El Nino Costero type characteristics, impacts and implications for livelihoods. The findings as well as network of expertise established in the region by the is a potential resource for the new administrations. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2020 |
| Sector | Agriculture, Food and Drink,Education |
| Impact Types | Cultural,Societal,Policy & public services |
| Description | Nancy Icanaque (Daniel Alcides Carrión teacher that participated in the project) presentation for winning the national educational innovation contest organized by FONDEP |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
| Impact | Profile raising of marginalised communities and regions: IE Daniel Alcides Carrión was one of 84 winners in the Peruvian National Education Development Fund's (FONDEP) annual Innovation competition for their presentation of RECUST from a total of 1332 submissions by state schools across 20 regions of Peru. Of the 10 winner from Piura, 5 were from the Sechura School Board (UGEL Sechura) and were assisted by the partner PRISMA as part of the project 'Educando Hoy para el Futuro' and the other from the joint el Niño project held between PRISMA and the University of St Andrews. Competition success raised the profile of IE Daniel Alcides Carrión (IE DAC) nationally as an innovator in Education and helped brand Sechura (through the UGEL) as a area of education innovation within the province of Piura, as well as, nationally in Peru. This has had a direct impact on retaining and increasing school enrolment in IE DAC despite the pandemic. It has strengthened the confidence and sense of pride in their identity among the students who participated. The prize is currently influencing decisions about the use of space in the new school building - inaugurated in 2021, with dedicated space given to displaying student's work on story telling on el Niño. Digital curricula capacity building: Undertaking the activity that underpinned the presentation and success in the competition provided training for the Social Science teacher and the School Director in engaging for the first time in developing a digital curricula. It built capacity among 4 PRISMA staff focused on education advocacy and communications in developing and delivering a digital curriculum in challenging technological settings. Training was provided for the social science teacher in research methods, developing submissions to education competitions and most importantly buildlng skills and competency in speaking to national and policy-making audiences. |
| URL | https://www.fondep.gob.pe/ganadores-del-concurso-de-innovacion-educativa-seran-reconocidos-hoy-de-ma... |
| Description | Nancy Icanaque (Daniel Alcides Carrión teacher that participated in the project) presentation for winning the regional educational innovation contest In Sechura |
| Geographic Reach | Local/Municipal/Regional |
| Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
| Impact | In September 2020 Nancy Incanaque won first prize in the Sechura School Board's Annual Education and Innovation Competition based on the presentation RECUST, which profiled the the roll out of a digital curricula on story telling. In COVID circumstances this curricula developed by the project team and partner PRISMA to replace face to face oral history work by the team with school children and parents in IE Daniel Alcides Carrión (IE DAC) secondary school, in Mala Vida, Cristo Nos Valga, Sechura. Competition success raised the profile of IE DAC in the Sechura school board region. As one of the poorest and most socially excluded areas under the board's jurisdiction, this was important recognition at a provincial level that contributed to strengthening community cohesion and self respect locally in the desert community of Mala Vida. It stimulated an interest among the staff and within the UGEL to scale up the experience more widely in Sechura and led to the co-development, with members of the project team (St Andrews and PRISMA), of a successful impact application to AHRC highlight funds (Awarded March 2021). The UGEL and IE DAC are formal collaborators on the new project and fed directly into the development of the proposal. Workforce new skills acquisition Success in the regional competition built confidence among the IE DAC staff, which sparked interest in developing an application for the more competitive national competition. This was a longer process and required gaining greater level of technical knowledge and new skills in how to develop and write formal professional submissions. Undertaking the activity that underpinned the presentation and success in the competition provided training for the Social Science teacher and the School Director in engaging for the first time in developing a digital curricula. It built capacity among 4 PRISMA staff focused on education advocacy and communications in developing and delivering a digital curriculum in challenging technological settings. The curricula provided an opportunity to build networks with Higher Education stakeholders in the region in content delivery through project partner the University of Piura. Training was provided for the social science teacher in research methods and digital platforms. She developed important skills and competencies in how to deliver support to students and manage classes on line in contexts where virtual connections are very scarce and unreliable. The teacher learnt how to innovate between technologies using what's app and on-line platforms to deliver following up to students and engage in all the sessions delivered by PRISMA remotely. These experiences were all shared with other teachers in Sechura and staff members in the UGEL as part of the formal presentation of the project to the competition. |
| URL | https://www.ugelsechura.edu.pe/web/blog/2020/10/22/ugel-sechura-y-fospibay-premian-a-docentes-innova... |
| Description | Project researcher assistants and project partners gained new practical knowledge on interdisciplinary work regarding climate and agriculture |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
| Impact | Peruvian project partners from NGOs, research institutions, local government and private industry and local education collaborators have been supported to become change makers within their respective sectors and communities. They have been able to take a lead role in helping to plan better for the future cyclical environmental shocks associated with El Niño events in the north of Peru and to recognise potential benefits of the increased rains associated with climate change in food systems in the desert. While still in development, these nascent skills have already been put into practice in how the project has needed to respond to COVID 19 situations. This includes developing flexible working protocols that can respond quickly to the risk and safeguarding issues that the pandemic has generated in Peru. The early career professionals engaged in the project have started to be equipped to understand the context in which blue print ideas for new strategies in the fields of production, education and inclusive development can be developed. This learning has occurred as a result of their engagement with the interdisciplinary nature of the project and the cross-sector collaborations it has generated both in 'on the ground' settings and in virtual environments. The latter includes through the enhanced use of digital communication and the tailored generation of new information technology platforms in the form of a developing a digital curriculum on story telling for schools based on generating orals histories around climate change and El Niño. |
| Description | El Nino a phenomenon with opportunities: learning history and valuing community assets for an empowering digital curriculum in northern Peru |
| Amount | £149,790 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | AH/V012215/1 |
| Organisation | Arts & Humanities Research Council (AHRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 02/2021 |
| End | 05/2022 |
| Description | Fishing and farming in the desert a platform for understanding how to respond to El Niño in the context of climate change in Sechura, Perú. |
| Amount | £117,467 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | SGS0-XFC090 |
| Organisation | Government of Scotland |
| Department | Scottish Funding Council |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 08/2019 |
| End | 07/2020 |
| Description | GCRF_NF516 Increasing resilience in fishing communities to impacts of COVID-19 in northern Peru |
| Amount | £297,163 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | EP/V042947/1 |
| Organisation | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 10/2020 |
| End | 04/2022 |
| Description | Going back to my rural roots: Covid 19 and return migration in northern Peru |
| Amount | £29,231 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Government of Scotland |
| Department | Scottish Funding Council |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 07/2020 |
| End | 08/2020 |
| Description | Leverhulme Major Research Fellowship |
| Amount | £192,116 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | MRF-2022-065 |
| Organisation | The Leverhulme Trust |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 09/2023 |
| End | 08/2026 |
| Description | Sample taking in the Chusis Archaeological site to obtain organic samples for radio carbon dating |
| Amount | $6,423 (USD) |
| Organisation | Newcastle University |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 11/2022 |
| End | 04/2023 |
| Title | El Niño digitazed newspaper cuttings database |
| Description | This database is a searchable database of the newspaper archive covering El Niño events in 1983, 1998 and 2017 (2017 is currently being developed), jointly with the Peruvian partner CIPCA for public open access. (The research team is looking for a repository to host the database) |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2020 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | The database was shared with the partners and it already has had an impact on them by being made available to staff and is being used for analysis and the writing of an article |
| Title | Laguna La Niña y Ramon datasets |
| Description | The research group generated scientific datasets related to paleoecology, atmospheric and oceans science that are being developed and analysed by Newcastle University. |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2020 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | For the moment the impact is limited to the research team and partners due to the difficulty of appointing a technician during lockdown to analyse the datasets to then make it public. |
| Title | Python dataset of the newspapers database |
| Description | The dataset consists of a series of .txt files that contain searchable data of all the newspaper scans for the 2017 El Nino. |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2021 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | The main impact of this dataset is that it will make the whole newspapers database searchable not only by the categories, subcategories and summary but for all the content inside the newspaper article. This can be used a long side the newspaper data base on the 1983 and 1998 el ninos. |
| Title | Remote sensing images to investigate the impact of El Niño in Piura, Peru. |
| Description | This datasate contains the dataset of remote sensing images that was used to do NDVI analysisof the Piura river Area. |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2021 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | The main impact of this dataset was that it helped to find out the difference in agricultural productivity between a the El Niño year of 2017 compared to the non El Niño years of 2016 and 2018 and also complemented the research of the project's research team. This innovation was not part of the original project design. It provided training opportunities for the ECR Peruvian researchers to learn remote sensing techniques. |
| Description | Centro de Investigación y Promoción del Campesinado (CIPCA) & St Andrews University project partnership |
| Organisation | Centro de Investigación y Promoción del Campesinado (CIPCA) |
| Country | Bolivia, Plurinational State of |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | This project was the first step for future collaborations with the research team and reactivated CIPCA's research department. At the same time, the project's research team contributed by making a database where all of CIPCA's El Niño collection would be digitized and made available to them. The interdisciplinary nature of the project also expanded CIPCA's contact network for future collaborative research. |
| Collaborator Contribution | CIPCA provided access to a unique set of newspaper cuttings related to the El Niño phenomenon from 1983 and 1998 (which are more than 6 and a half thousand articles in total) and digitized those sets of newspaper cuttings that are now an important part of a publication that is currently being developed. |
| Impact | A complete digitised database of newspaper cuttings from the El Niño events of 1983 and 1998 |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | Fundación para el Desarrollo Agrario (FDA) & St Andrews University project partnership |
| Organisation | Fundación para el Desarrollo Agrario (FDA) |
| Country | Peru |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | The research team provided the framework that FDA used to undertake their part of the research. The project PI contributed her knowledge about research and the project contributed access to important data such as the newspaper database and local contacts to facilitate interviews. Importantly it linked FDA up with PRISMA with whom they worked to design the questionnaires for the fisherman in Sechura. |
| Collaborator Contribution | FDA contributed their expertise on Peruvian fisheries to the project. One of the ways that this was expressed was through the literature review on climate variability in northern Peru. FDA oversaw fisheries researcher recruitment and delivered research training while undertaking pilot fishing and farming questionnaire surveys in local municipalities. This training helped generate a rigorous longitudinal understanding of the extent of fishing and agricultural activity in marginal communities |
| Impact | Full report on the state of fisheries in northern Peru Estimation of the fish, animals and crops quantities and resources / practices |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | Newcastle University & St Andrews University project partnership |
| Organisation | Newcastle University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | The project provided Newcastle University with a strong platform for future research on climate change adaptation as well as key contacts among the project partners and with local field contacts in the northern region of Peru. The project also strengthened their existing partnership with UDEP. |
| Collaborator Contribution | This partner delivered expertise on the physical geography side of the project through the CoI Andrew Henderson. The Newcastle University expertise is based on their research conducted on the Sechura lakes since 2014. Newcastle provided access to Paleolimnology and dendrochronology records collected previously by them and UDEP in the Cristo nos Valga area over a period of years. Additionally, they provided access to sediment samples collected from deposits made by the 2017 El Niño for comparative analysis. Newcastle University also provided mentoring to a technician for sample analysis. |
| Impact | - A total of six cores that are currently undergoing geochemical and sedimentological and geochemical analysis, and are being used to reconstruct flood histories. - Publication that is currently being written with other partners in the consortium. |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | PRISMA & St Andrews University project partnership |
| Organisation | PRISMA ONG |
| Country | Peru |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | The PI's extensive experience of conducting research was the main contribution for this partner, which helped develop PRISMA's research focus on social issues. Previously their research activities focused only in health and medicine, while social issues were targets for development intervention projects and not research. PRISMA gained access to the data generated from the project that is useful underpinning context for their "Educando para el futuro" development intervention project. The project also opened up opportunities for PRISMA to participate in other proposals for further research. The PI gave intellectual input on how to identify different possibilities for enhancing research through new proposals and projects and by reflecting on current work. PRISMA's local network of contacts expanded due to the contacts that the team members had made during previous field visits, as well as, during the roll out of the research and in the course of developing new proposals. This included making new links with local universities and heritage actors. |
| Collaborator Contribution | PRISMA brought local knowledge and expertise from its 'Educando hoy para el futuro' project in the Sechura region. It facilitated direct engagement with secondary schools and parents' associations in the lagoon region in order to gather data on desert-food systems, El Niño and climate change, as part of curricula activities in Communication and Social Studies. Directly related to this was their day to day contribution in terms of providing knowledge about a range of local contacts, from sources needed to buy PPE in the context of the COVID pandemic, to contacts with printing services and room hire for project events. Their logistical contribution to the project's launch with an audience of local district level mayors and other stakeholders was invaluable as they were able to call and guarantee the right audience. Last but not least PRISMA made a significant contribution to the delivery of the oral histories and the participatory mapping parts of the project where they worked with the Daniel Alcides Carrion school in Mala Vida.They facilitated direct collaboration with the principal and teachers in the school as well as other stakeholders, which in turn contributed to the school's success in national and regional education innovation prizes that greatly boosted the visibility of the project locally as well as with educational policy makers regionally and nationally. |
| Impact | - Research data. - Student produced videos and new curricula initiatives. - Workshops for teachers and secondary school students in the Daniel Alcides Carrion School regarding how to do research - PRISMA's researchers now have the skills to understand and plan for climate change adaptation - Teaching material in the Daniel Alcides Carrion school related to the El Niño phenomenon |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | Universidad De Piura (UDEP) & St Andrews University project partnership |
| Organisation | University of Piura |
| Country | Peru |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | The contribution to this partner was expertise regarding interdisciplinary work. UDEP got to interact with all the project partners to deliver various objectives. The project gave them access to important data such as the newspaper database and local contacts with whom they were able to work to deliver project results. The research team was also able to provide a rigorous research base and develop interdisciplinary questions and tools, which could act as a platform from which to devise large climate change adaptation bids in the future. |
| Collaborator Contribution | UDEP contributed data and new analysis on climatology, as well as installing a atmospheric monitoring station in Sechura Bay. In the same way UDEP contributed to the project facilitating access to measurement facilities and regional climate data from the Piura region. This data includes Sea Surface Temperature (SST) and atmospheric temperature, among others. Dr. Rodolfo Rodríguez brought expertise and provided leadership on the science of past climate change. He recruited 3 UDEP undergraduate students at their thesis stage, to work on the project (1 more than in the original proposal). Two contributed to the analysis of dendrochronological, atmospheric and ocean temperature data, the third contributed to the History and Cultural Heritage programme in order to enhance the interdisciplinary aspects of the research through the revision and analysis of colonial archives. |
| Impact | - Different data sets of data including meteorological data from the different weather stations that UDEP already had but also from the ones that were installed with the project. - Dendrochronology research data from the CoI. - A state-of-the-art data synthesis of the tree-ring based climatology. |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | Briefing for new local government authorities (Mayor of the Province of Sechura) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | 3 members of the NGO partner PRISMA, visiting museum expert from Guatemala and PI Nina Laurie met with the mayor and her assistant in the first few days of her undertaking her new office to present the project findings and final report. This sparked questions about the project and follow on on-going work at Chusis archeological site, it also fed into the design for a new large proposal to a local funder to include the theme of culture and identity to work with the Sechura school board. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Briefing visit for the new Mayor of Bernal District |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | 2 members of the NGO partner PRISMA, vand PI Nina Laurie met with the mayor and her assistant in the first few days of him undertaking his new office to present the project findings and final report. Bernal District had been a formal collaborator under the pervious, administration. This sparked questions about the project and follow on project and an invitation to attend the Bernal Carnival to celebrate local culture and heritage. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Certificates and diplomas award ceremony |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | The activity was organised by PRISMA to deliver certificates and diplomas to the participants of the oral history and participatory mapping parts of the project implemented in Daniel Alcides Carrion school (IE DAC). The participants were all IE DAC teachers and Lic. Socorro Marcela Cornejo Zapata, the Director of the Sechura UGEL (Regional governing body for education). This event was also used as a platform to present phase 2 of this branch of the project based on new AHRC Highlight funding. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://youtu.be/ZRrQcsaRqgw |
| Description | Community outreach meeting |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
| Results and Impact | The project's research assistants from FDA and the project coordinator went to the rural communities to establish contact with the community leader, give a presentation of the project objectives, and coordinate coordination meetings for further access to the communities and people. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Daniel Alcides Carrion (Educational Institution) teacher conference presentation |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Educational Institution "Daniel Alcides Carrion" teacher Nancy Icanaque participated in an international virtual conference where various successful projects from South America received recognition. Nancy presented the oral histories part of the project that she worked on with PRISMA and the school, and for which they won two awards, one regional and one national |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://www.fondep.gob.pe/ii-encuentro-internacional-maestras-destacadas-intercambiaron-sus-experien... |
| Description | Delivering computer tablets to a rural area in northern Peru in times of a pandemic |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Blog to highlight the impact of COVID 19 on research |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://calacs.wp.st-andrews.ac.uk/2020/06/29/delivering-computer-tablets-to-a-rural-area-in-norther... |
| Description | End of project briefing with the Director of the Sechura School Board |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | 2 members of the NGO partner PRISMA and PI Nina Laurie met with the Director to present the project findings and final report and celebrate success in receiving an joint excellence from the Piura Regional Government for the collaboration between the project and the School Board. This sparked questions about the future of the project project findings and fed into the design for a new large proposal to a local funder to include the theme of culture and identity to work with the School board. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Farming and fishing in the desert project virtual presentation |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Project coordinator presented an overview of the project in the first 'South-South' Conversation on Climate Change and Coastal Communities organised by the GCRF Cultural Heritage Hub Project that also featured the presentations of projects in Tanzania and Costa Rica. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://youtu.be/C4eINxKoR34 |
| Description | Field visit to the Municipal to ecological park and Laguna Ñapique with the Sechura municipality to "plant fish" |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The research team was invited by the Sechura municipality to accompany them first to the ecological park to collect small fish from the municipal aquaculture ponds and then transport them to Laguna Ñapique (to "plant fish"). This generated an opportunity for the PI and project coordinator to share the project with various local stakeholders, including the president of the irrigation committee - the main gatekeeper who has access to all the different rural communities in the Sechura region. These contacts later introduced us to more contacts that were useful for the research. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Field visit to the Ñapique lake |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
| Results and Impact | In order to get to know Laguna Ñapique and interact with local fishermen, an FDA field team visited Laguna Ñapique where it was possible to make contact with various fishermen from the Onza de Oro community. A follow-on, next meeting was scheduled to survey the area, assist in fishing duties and do fieldwork in general. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | GCRF global conversations presentation with Tanzania, Chile,Scotland and Peru. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The project PI did a presentation on the El Niño phenomenon and it's opportunities in northern Peru in the GCRF global conversations event organized by the Students for Global Health in St Andrews, a UK registered charity, that had presentations of other projects from Tanzania, Chile and Scotland. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmVSWvznjcE |
| Description | Meeting an presentation of the project to the mayor of Bernal |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | FDA's research assistants met up with the mayor of Bernal, to present the project objectives and summon community leaders so that they could participate in the project. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Meeting an presentation of the project to the mayor of Cristo Nos Valga |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | FDA's research assistants organised a meeting with the Cristo nos Valga mayor to present the project objectives and summon community leaders for the development of the project. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Project PI Presented the project in for the Royal Geographical Society |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The project PI Professor Nina Laurie presented parts of the "Phenomenon with opportunities" project including the "El Nino a phenomenon with opportunities: learning history and valuing community assets for an empowering digital curriculum in northern Peru" project" in the context of her presentation for the Royal Geographical Society. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZGyab8Tr3M |
| Description | Project PI presentation of the research project in the Resilience Hub at the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP 26) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The project PI Professor Nina Laurie presented the different parts of the project "Phenomenon with Opportunities" that also included the "El Nino a phenomenon with opportunities: learning history and valuing community assets for an empowering digital curriculum in northern Peru" project, in the Resilience Hub at the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2HWXmGPlGLs&t=1117s |
| Description | Project launch in Sechura Peru |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | The activity was the launch presentation for the project and was conducted jointly with the partner PRISMA. Formal invitations were sent to the general public and local authorities. They specifically targeted the district level mayors in Sechura. The presentation was followed by a press release from PRISMA using their contacts with regional media outlets. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Project presentation at the Global Challenges Forum |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The NGO PRISMA, a partner of the project, through Amanda Valdez and Maria Carmen Palacios presented the second phase of the project and some preliminary results at the Sustainable Livelihoods Symposium organized by the Global Challenges Forum (GCRF) organized by the University of St Andrews. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUJ3iep5M0M |
| Description | Project press release regarding the secured funding. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The project issued press releases in Peru and the UK regarding the securing of new funding for a new project between PRISMA and the research team. It gave a brief overview of what the partnership has been doing and its importance given that this new funding expands on the prize-winning pilot project on oral histories worked with PRISMA. As a result of it being featured on https://www.miragenews.com/el-nino-offers-lessons-for-climate-520454/, contact was made by Peruvian-born, US based, your tube channel producer Enrique Dominguez whose channel advocate for professionals that are working with communities affected by Climate Change. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DG71GcV0ctM&t=127s for a follow-up interview. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://news.st-andrews.ac.uk/archive/el-nino-offers-lessons-for-climate-change/ |
| Description | Project's academic workshop for the Project's launch |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | A workshop took place in UDEP's campus in Piura city for an invited audience of 25 comprising project NGO partner (CIPCA and PRISMA) staff, local RA's, potential thesis students from UDEP and the PUCP Lima, and UDEP academics with an in interest in El Niño. PI Nina Laurie and CoIs Andrew Henderson and Rodolfo Rodolfo Rodríguez Arismendiz presented the project in person and CoI Jaime Mendo and PDRA Tania Mendo presented virtually. This sparked a discussion about the extent and usefulness of the dendrochronology archive at UDEP and the importance of the role of the regional media in shaping debates about whether El Niño is an opportunity or a disaster. As a result, three thesis students from UDEP asked to join the project (1 more than originally planned) and new links were established with colleagues in the history faculty at UDEP. As a result, one staff member in History joined the project as thesis supervisor. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Research team projects webpage |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | A projects website was created so that the general public, as well as the PI's and CoIs students in both countries could access project resources. The web page is in English and Spanish for this reason. The web page has become particularly important for engagement in the context of COVID-19 where face to face discussion is not easy or possible in some cases and where teaching is reliant on on-line delivery. The resource has been used to discuss the impacts of COVID on rural livelihoods in the St Andrews GG 1002 UG module 'A World in Crisis' which has 150+ registered students. It has generated interest from two bilingual St Andrews Sustainable Development Masters Students wishing to undertake dissertations linked to the project. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://elninophenomenon.wp.st-andrews.ac.uk/ |
| Description | Return migration project presentation |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | This was a virtual presentation of the results of the return migration work, which was as the first empirical study of return migration in the context of COVID conducted in Peru. It was based on a 92 page report in English and Spanish, MIGRACIÓN DE RETORNO EN EL ALTO PIURA EN EL CONTEXTO DE LA PANDEMIA POR EL COVID-19 (Migration and return in Alto Piura in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic - authors María Luisa Burneo, Anthropologist, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú. Abdul Trelles) and a 4-page policy brief, also in English and Spanish. A press release was covered in the St Andrews 'In the loop' and distributed to Peruvian NGOs and the ministry of inclusion, as well as the UK Embassy in Peru and the Peruvian Embassy in London. CIPCA and the project team presented the research results to a wide audience that included the professionals, researchers, policy makers of national level, and the general public in Peru on 29th October 2020. The 3 hour workshop engaged between 75-90 public participants through the duration of the meeting. Invited speakers included Formal Presenters/Participants: Executive Director of CIPCA and PI Professor Nina Laurie, University of St Andrews, Geography and Sustainable Development. Presentation by the report authors and Panel of discussants: form a leading Peruvian Economist from Instituto de Estudios Peruanos and ex as a Minister of Development and Social Inclusion (2011 - 2013); Ccoordinator of the Descentralized office of the Ministry of Development and Social Inclusion, an ex minister of the Descentralización de la Presidencia del Consejo de Ministros - PCM (2008-2009). and Asesor del Despacho Ministerial de Cultura (2017-2018) and Viceministro de Gobernanza Territorial de la PCM. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://www.facebook.com/Centro-de-Investigaci%C3%B3n-y-Promoci%C3%B3n-del-Campesinado-Cipca-3645307... |
| Description | Tablet delivery event in the Daniel Alcides Carrión school |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | The delivery of computer tablets for the Students of the Daniel Alcides Carrión was done in an event organized by the partner PRISMA and the School, this event had the attendance of students, parents, leaders of the community, the director of the Local Education Management Unit (UGEL ) Sechura and one of the directors of PRISMA. This event was also featured in various local and regional newspapers, this helped the project to gain recognition locally given that the delivery took place during the Covid Quarantines |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.elregionalpiura.com.pe/index.php/region-piura/152-otras-provincias/52177-piura-entregan-... |
| Description | Visit to the rural community of Chutuque |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
| Results and Impact | Project CoI Jaime Mendo and FDA's research Assistants visited the town of "Chutuque" in the district of Cristo Nos Valga, Sechura where they met with different community leaders including the agricultural irrigation association president, and also the "teniente gobernador" (Community leader). The project's CoI gave a presentation about the project highlighting its importance to local livelihoods and both community leaders expressed their interest in participating in the project. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | webinar on Heritage, Climate Change & Human Rights |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | 'Lunch and learn' webinar organised by PRAXIS for civil servant briefings - to DCMS/DEFRA/FCDO 7th October 2021 - 'Intangible Heritage for Climate Adaptation and Mitigation' Project emerging findings presented alongside AHRC funded project from Colombia (Project: Integrating ecological and cultural histories to inform sustainable and equitable futures for the Colombian páramos) key findings, challenges and other personal reflections, highlighting the most important issues emerged from your project in relation to Heritage, Climate change and Human Rights. Included Q and A and wrap up with a 1 minute 'policy take away' |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://changingthestory.leeds.ac.uk/praxis/praxis-opportunities/learning-events/cultural-heritage-c... |