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Paths to sustainable development in the Andes Carla Marchant

It has been calculated that, on tthe number o residents directly project amounts to 70 000 indivthe mobilization o various socialto reject the Pascua Lama activ

have not had much success.Te second actor that Romer

count relates to the accelerated efespecially those that are highly nareas (Price & Neville 2003, Hubieux & Price 2008). Rising tema visible decrease in the surace

the same time the vulnerability o these areas and theirnative residents, heightening social and economic dis-parities.

One case that has had an enormous impact uponpublic opinion is that o the open pit mining projectPascua Lama, across the border o both Argentina andChile (in the 3rd region o Atacama, in the municipalityo Alto del Carmen and in northern Argentina, 300 km

rom the city o San Juan). Tis project belongs to theCanadian-based Barrick Gold Corporation. Teir aimis to extract gold, silver and copper with an estimatedinvestment o USD 950 000 000 over 20 years. In envi-ronmental terms, the negative impact o this project issubstantial, given that the original idea was to removeand transplant three glaciers. Tis would have directlyafected the water supply reservoirs dependent on theseglaciers, calculated at 370 litres per second. It shouldbe mentioned that the company has bought the waterrights and is at liberty to use this natural resource.

Te location o the project includes, on the Argen-tinean side, the Reserva de la Bisera San Guillermo(San Guillermo National Park and Biosphere Reserve),and, on the Chilean side, the territory that belongs to

the Diaguita, another native ethnic group. Te requiredinrastructure or the operations o the Barrick GoldCorporation (tunnels and new roads) implies an enor-mous environmental impact, risking the natural andcultural balance o this region and contaminating watersupplies and soil with toxic and heavy materials, lead-ing to an eventual loss o the biodiversity o these areas.

chloride, copper, lead, and to a lesser extent, silver andgold. Moreover, this area o South America is one o theregions with great potential or generating photovoltaic,solar and geothermal energy. Tese diferent kinds oecosystems have given birth to a variety o landscapesthat have encouraged the emergence o assorted humanestablishments, orms o land use and the exploitationo natural resources (Cepeda & Oyarzn 2006).

From a cultural point o view, the Andes still arehome to most native South-American tribes. Since be-ore the Spanish conquest, these mountains have beenhome to diverse ethnic groups, such as the Aymara,Quechua and Mapuche. According to the statistics othe Census Bureau, Quechua speakers are the biggestethnic group. In Bolivia, they make up 15.5 % o thepopulation, in Peru they reach 11.9 % and in Ecua-dor 22 %. In Chile and Argentina, these groups repre-sent shrinking minorities. Te tribes have a clearly setworldview, that is, how they see the world and h ow theyinterpret their natural and cultural surroundings. Formost natives, humans and Mother Earth (Pachamama)are part o a permanently connected whole.

Te Andean region and globalization the cur-rent situation

According to Romero (2002), the Andes are acing twophenomena that have a considerable impact on societiessettled in the Latin-American mountains. On the onehand, we see the globalization o the economy, whichin most Andean regions is strongly oriented towards theexploitation o natural resources o global interest, suchas copper and gold, extracted by multinationals. Teimpact generated in the mountain systems o these re-gions creates conicts among enterprises, native ethnicgroups and the residents o the lowlands who mostlydepend on the resources o the highlands, given that orthe extraction o these minerals many natural resourcesare needed, including water. Te use o these resourcesincreases the number o environmental conicts cur-rently afecting most Andean countries (ab. 2) and at

Introduction

Te continental mountain range o the Andes representsone o the most heterogeneous, varied and interestingorogenic belts o the entire planet. With a length o over7 500 km (the range extends rom 11 N to 56 S), theAndes host an immense biological, climatic and humandiversity. Tese magnicent heights with an average el-evation o 4 000 m and, in cases like the Aconcagua and

the Nevado Ojos del Salado, reaching beyond 6 800 m,have justly earned the name o la Cordillera de los Su-perlativos (Borsdor 1997). Tese mountains not onlyinclude many capital cities but also the navigable Lakeiticaca in Bolivia at 3 810 m above sea level and thehighest railroute in the world (Peru Callao HuancayoRailways) reaching more than 4 700 m.

Table 1: Main Andean cities in Latin America. Source: United Nations2007.

Country Capital Area(km2)

Inhabitants(2010)

Altitude(m)

Bolivia La Paz 470 1 6 92 00 0 3 60 0

Chile Santiago 2 273.6 5 599 000 567

E cu ado r Qu it o 360 1 846 000 2 850

Colombia Santa Fe de 518 8 375 000 2 600

Per L ima 2 664.6 7 605 742 110

In terms o biodiversity, the Andes are the perectstage or a great variety o ecosystems with high levelso endemism (Price 2007). Tis diversity is represented,in the case o wetland ecosystems, by the plains o Ven-ezuela, Colombia, Ecuador and parts o northern Peru.Tis type o high-mountain ecosystem and its climaticcharacteristics, such as cold temperatures, cloudinessand mean annual precipitations o 1 000 mm, whereevaporation is very low, promote a positive hydric bal-ance that makes them vital or storing and regulatingwater.

Desert ecosystems, such as the Altiplano in thewestern part o Bolivia, northern Chile and Argentinaas well as in southern Peru, are characterized by richmineral elds o sodium nitrate, lithium, borax, sodium

Table 2: Environmental conicts related to mining activities. Source: Observatorio de Conictos Mineros de Amrica Ltorio Latinoamericano de Conictos Ambientales (OLCA), 2010. *One company could be involved in more th

Country Number of current conflicts until2010

Number of projects Number of companiesinvolved*

Argentina 19 25 34

Bolivia 6 5 5

Chile 16 17 26

Colombia 13 30 19

Ecuador 3 3 2

Per 17 16 33

Venezuela No data - -

Fig. 1: Putre, Chile, 3 500 m, a good excape. Photograph by Martin Merg

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However, despite the heterogeas, key elements can be identiconsidered when creating policieable development (Fig. 2).

Against this clear perspective

selves, what is the state o sustaWhat alternative ways and exampractice in other mountain rangeto improved levels o environmecan be successully applied in thrange?

In search o sustainability in

o advance in this regard, it is neority issues and problems that shthe environmental agenda o thein this way will it be possible to ability or these mountain areaspriate plans and public policies.

From the perspective o policishould be integrated in an articthe diferent Andean countries,

tion o sustainability o mountain areas. Improvementsinclude: a global, regional and national perspective o the

importance o the sustainability in mountain re-gions; better protection conditions o natural re-sources and improved technical and institutionalmeans to reduce natural disasters;

a stronger global network o inormation or or-

ganizations, governments and other individuals in-volved in this eld;

improved capacities o the countries or better plan-ning, implementation and monitoring o programsand activities related to sustainable development;

the ght against poverty, support or the genera-tion o inrastructure and social services aimed atthe protection o mountain livelihoods and nativeethnic populations;

the ormulation and negotiation o regional or sub-regional mountain conventions, and the ormula-tion o a global charter or mountain areas.

Te actions already taken by the UN are global in scopeand as a result mountains now enjoy a higher degree

o attention by both politicians and scientists. Teyhave improved the living conditions o the residents odiferent mountain ranges in the world, ensuring oodsecurity by improving production techniques and byproviding tools to stimulate these local economies. Itmust nevertheless be emphasized that the sustainabilityo these diverse and dynamic mountain systems requiresstrategies relevant to the individual regions.

Authors such as Price and Messerli (2002) are o theopinion that it is not possible to establish a one-size-ts-all denition o sustainable development in mountainareas. Such a denition would be restrictive and notrepresentative enough o the diversity present in theseregions. What is more, this concept should be denedtaking into account the various regional scales (national,regional and local) and should relate to region-specic

processes o development relevant to the cultural char-acteristics o the populations that live in and depend onthese spaces.

at international level did not come until several centu-ries later. In 1984, the rst meeting o the World Com-mission on Environment and Development (WCED)was held. It represents a milestone in awareness o theprinciples o sustainable development on the interna-tional public agenda. In this context, the well-knownBrundtland Commission and the publication in 1987o its report Our Common Futureemphasized the envi-

ronmental crisis that the planet was about to ace andidentied the key actors that were going to generate it.It was noted that both the poverty in the countries othe South and the excessive consumerism o the Northwould contribute to making global development unsus-tainable.

Te results o this report were vital or dening theactions taken by the UN at the United Nations Con-erence on Environment and Development (UNCED),also known as the Earth Summit, held in 1992 inRio de Janeiro. As a consequence o this summit, theAgenda 21, also known as Plan o Action, was drawnup. It lists the challenges that have to be dealt with bythe participants o the summit at internatio nal, nationaland especially at local level (Heinelt 2000). A strategic

area o action o Agenda 21 in this context is its Chap-ter 13, called Managing Fragile Ecosystems: SustainableMountain Development.

In this chapter, some concrete objectives could beestablished in order to advance towards sustainabledevelopment in mountain areas. Coordinating the ul-lment o all these objectives is the task o the FAO(Food and Agriculture Organization) which supervis-es the progress towards these targets by means o twoprogrammes based on what is known as integratedecosystem approach or the sustainable developmento mountain areas (Hadji Sne & Douglas 1997). Terst objective was to strengthen the knowledge aboutthe ecology and the sustainability o these ecosystems,and the second sought to promote integrated watershedmanagement and ofer opportunities or better living

conditions or mountain villagers.Since the Rio Summit, there has been progress in

many aspects related to the promotion and dissemina-

and snow in the Andean mountains. A drastic exampleo the speed o this process can be ound in the tropicalglaciers o the Cordillera Blanca (White Range) in theAncash region o Peru, which have lost more than 20 %o their surace area within the last our decades. I thistrend continues, these glaciers will have d isappeared en-tirely by 2030. Tis not only threatens the water sup-ply or cities but also or most native tribes who largely

depend on agricultural activities in these areas. Also, ac-cording to the results o this investigation, the meltingo these glaciers has already caused a 12 % decrease inwater supply on the desert coast o Peru, where 60 % othe total population live.

In terms o risk actors, climate change also impliesmore natural disasters originating in mountain ar-eas, such as oods, avalanches and volcanic eruptions,causing increased costs or the Andean regions. A re-search carried out in 2008 by the Comision Andinade Naciones (Andean Community o Nations, ormedby Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru) ound thatclimate change could cost the Andean countries USD30 000 million per year, whi ch is the equivalent o4.5 % o the GDP o these our countr ies. It has already

been orecast that by 2025, 70 % o the residents o theAndes will have severe diculties in accessing drinkingwater sources. As o 2020, approximately 40 millionpeople will be at risk o losing their drinking water sup-plies as well as some crops due to melting glaciers andincreasing desertication in the Andean mountains.

Tis scenario raises questions about the uture o theworlds mountains, especially the Andes, and what wecan do to ensure the sustainability o these areas andtheir residents.

Sustainability and sustainable development omountain areas: towards a defnition

First attempts at establishing a concept o sustainabilitydate back to the early 18 th century, in the context o acrisis in German orestry (Carlowitz 1713). However,interest in this area and recognition o its importance

Sustainable

development i

mountain area

Environment

Risk

Economy

Fig. 2: Key elements of sustainable develop

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Romero, H. 2002. El territorio gracin global y local. Revista18 (2-4): 177181.

Romero, H., P. Smith & A. Vchanges and economic globalenges or Developing NationBorsdor (eds.), Global changopment in mountain regions. A

Environment 7, Innsbruck: 7United Nations (eds.) 2008. Wopects: e 2007 Revision. New

Reerences

Borsdor, A. & V. Braun 2008. Te European and Glo-bal Dimension o Mountain Research. An Overview.Revue de Gographie96 (4): 117129.

Borsdor, A. 1997. Die Andenlnder. In: Lnder-Vlker-Kontinente3, Bertelsmann Lexikothek, 3. ed. Gter-loh: 293311.

Carlowitz, H.C. 1713. Silvicultura Oeconomica oderhausswirtschaftliche Nachricht und naturgemsse An-weisung zur wilden Baumzucht. Reprint U Ber-gakademie Freiberg, 2000.

Cepeda, J. & J. Oyarzn 2006. Geoecologa de los Andesdesrticos: la alta montaa del Valle del Elqui. La Ser-ena: 4166.

Debarbieux, B. & M. Price 2008. Representing Moun-tains: From Local and National to Global CommonGood. Geopolitics13 (1): 148168.

Hadji Sne, E. & M. Douglas 1997. Desarrollo sosteni-ble de las zonas de montaa. Programa 21 Inorme deAvance. Captulo 13.

Heinelt, H. 2000. Nachhaltige Entwicklung durchAgenda 21-Prozesse. Politikwissenschatliche Fra-gen und berlegungen zur Debatte. Lokale Agenda21- Prozesse: 5166.

Huber, U., H. Bugmann & M. Reasoner 2005. Globalchange and mountain regions. An overview o cur-rent knowledge. Advances in global change research23: 650.

Price, M. 2007. Maintaining mountain biodiversity inan era o climate change. In: Borsdor, A, J. Sttter& E. Veulliet (eds.), Managing Alpine Future. IGFForschungsberichte 2. Vienna: 1733.

Price, M. & G. Neville 2003. Designing strategies toincrease the resilience o alpine/montane systemsto climate change. In: Hansen, L., L. Biringer & J.Hofman (eds.), Buying Time: A Users Manual forBuilding Resistance and Resilience to Climate Changein Natural Systems. Gland: 7395.

Price, M. & B. Messerli 2002. Fostering sustainablemountain development: From Rio to the Interna-

tional Year o Mountains, and beyond. Unasylva 208:617.

prone region in the world, ater Asia (44 %), where mostcatastrophic events happen. Given this perspective, wemust rst reduce the vulnerability o the Andean coun-tries to risks and dangers (i. e. establish regional mapso risks and vulnerability) and secondly, we should aimat a better public management o these events togetherwith more efective plans o prevention and mitigation.

o conclude, I want to stress the need to promote

the development o multidisciplinary mountain-ori-ented research approaches inside the Latin-Americancontext as only these are able to address ully the di-versity and complexity o these spaces. A valid optionto achieve this would be to ollow models that have al-ready been successul in other mountains in the world,such as can be ound in the DIAMON project (DataInrastructure o the Alps Mountain Orientated Net-work echnology) and in mountain.RIP (MountainSustainability: ransorming Research Into Practice) inthe Alps and Europe (Borsdor & Braun 2008).

Finally, both the spread o scientic knowledge gen-erated by research groups and NGOs and the dissemi-nation o successul practices are relevant as they allowthe establishment o exchange networks between the

international scientic community and local people.Following this line and some antecedents seen in theForo de las Montaas (Mountain Forum), an interna-tional network responsible or contacting and divulgingnews related to the sustainable development achievedin the various mountain areas across the world, LatinAmerica is seen as a region where participation andresearch are actively pursued. Te work done by thesenetworks is highly valuable, especially or the mountainregion o the Andes. We can thereore claim that eventhough we still have a long way to go, we have neverthe-less progressed in terms o the current sustainability othe Andes.

cessul instances o already implemented measures inother parts o the world. A easible way to achieve this isto adapt and recondition to our Latin-American realitythose models already put into practice in Europe, suchas the Alpine Convention or the Carpathian Conven-tion.

In the economic dimension, we have to pro gress ur-ther in promoting and ostering those activities that are

benecial or the commercial integration among An-dean countries (that is, to establish airer tax policies,to protect ree competition, to control saeguards, etc).Te Andean Community o Nations (CAN) is a bodythat has achieved dynamic ree trade among membercountries and partners and has also acilitated oreigninvestment into this block o countries. Future chal-lenges in this area lie in consolidating and strengtheninga Latin-American group as a platorm or regional ex-change to negotiate better conditions, ree trade agree-ments (FAs) with other global trading groups, such asthe European Union. It is necessary to strengthen theconditions o economic and political stability in theAndean countries to create proper environments thatpermit such ows o investment.

In the environmental dimension, the main actionssuggested aim at creating both an agenda and a plan oaction to ace climate change which is generating in-disputable negative efects on the natural resources othe region. Te retreat o glaciers, or instance, has ahuge impact on energy generation (approximately 60 %o the electricity consumed by the Andean countries iscurrently being generated by hydropower stations usingthe water rom the glaciers). It is also vital to develop in-tegrated strategies to manage water resources and plansto protect biodiversity as well as establishing paymentmechanisms or environmental services.

In a related aspect, the dimension o risk, the Andesis a region with requent instances o natural disastersresulting in major social and economic losses. Between1900 and 1999, in Latin America and the Caribbean

alone, 1 309 natural disasters were reported. Tis cor-responds to 19 % o all natural disasters reported world-wide. Latin America is thus the second most disaster-