Integrated upstream and downstream thinking to mitigate water security challenges from Peruvian glacier retreat

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While NGOs and international institutions have begun work on mitigation activities in the Santa Basin and wider glacial-fed basins in Peru, to date their impact has been point-specific, reactive and isolated. The fragmented nature of interventions means potential benefit and improvement to ecosystems and fresh water resource provision are unknown. This underpins the need for the basin-wide approach proposed by this study to catalyse integrated development of adaption policies. Key policy questions remain unanswered; e.g. does transitioning of land use affect water balance and how are these changes augmented/affected by glacier hydrological processes and retreat. These critical scientific-technical gaps are made worse by the lack of tools or strategy to integrate scientific evidence of spatial and temporal dynamics of basin changing basin processes with ecosystem service provision in the water-food-energy security nexus. We aim to close these gaps and bring real change in policy through a combination of stakeholder engagement, training and knowledge exchange activities.

The Pathways to Impact strategy encompasses four key stakeholder groups: (1) national and regional agencies with responsibility for water resource and ecosystem management policy; (2) the water and hydropower industry; (3) third sector NGOs and commercial practitioner companies (e.g. Mott MacDonald) who provide technical, contractual and financial assistance; and (4) Peruvian and UK citizens and taxpayers.

1. National agencies and the management community: MERESE (the Mechanisms for Payments for Ecosystem Services Programme within the Ministry of the Environment) will be able to use the water balance models generated to underpin cases for mountain ecosystems protection and restoration to increase water storage capacity. SERNAMP (the Natural Protected Areas Institute within the Ministry of Agriculture with responsibility for land management policy will benefit in turn through wider ecosystem service provision of such protected and restored landscapes. The Peruvian National Water Authority (ANA) will benefit from water balance models for future resource policy planning, especially within their glaciology unit who are working on impact of retreat on long-term supply.

2. The water and hydropower industry: The Peruvian team have connections into key companies (Chavimochic, Chinecas, Urban Water and Sanitation Services in Huaraz, Chimbote and Trujillo) all of who will benefit from water resource monitoring and modelling data to support future business models and adaption to potential shortage challenges. They are key partners in the co-design and development of a Payment for Ecosystem services model. Hydropower companies are also key stakeholders (e.g. Orazul Energy) in the same way with clear interest in water supply but also siltation behind dams.

3. Third sector NGOs and commercial practitioner companies: have responsibility for implementation of on-the-ground interventions to promote environmental sustainability and associated UN SDGs. They will benefit both from research evidence bases to build local cases for specific intervention and also the channels to discuss and co-design wider policy and PES concept development with the above governmental and industrial partners within project workshops. Similarly, international consultancies and advisory organisations such as Mott MacDonald require high quality, robust scientific evidence to underpin their design decisions for watershed management.

4. The Peruvian and UK public are important stakeholders in the research and also beneficiaries in terms of enrichment of views on environmental management and ecosystem services that this programme will bring. Wider benefits will be achieved through science communication initiatives (e.g. through photojournalism projects and schools liaison).