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Andean tourism hotspot faces water challenge

25.07.2017

Chivay, a tourism hub and the provincial capital of the Colca Valley in Peru, is situated at approximately 3 600 metres (m) above sea level. With around 7 000 inhabitants, Chivay is the largest community in the Colca Valley, located in the Arequipa Region in the southern part of the Peruvian Andes. In the 1980s, the first tourists began arriving in the Colca Valley, and today, more than 100 000 tourists travel to there annually, to hike in the Valley’s deep Canyon and to witness the condors residing there. Because of its geographic location at a comfortable stop-over distance from Arequipa, Chivay has developed into a provincial hub for the tourism industry, putting pressure on the municipality to provide enough water for the visitors and residents as the glaciers that feed the nearby watersheds continue to retreat as a result of climate change. 

In the spring of 2016, Gothenburg University graduate student Robert Nylander did a field study in Chivay, examining how the municipality’s development into one of Peru’s main tourist destinations, combined with the effects of climate change, had affected water availability and management there. Robert interviewed community members in Chivay, finding common threads relating to water quality and quantity. A majority of respondents were doubtful of the safety and quality of water for human consumption. Regarding the quantity of water available, one business owner testified, “When I moved back to Chivay five years ago, I noticed that the tap water pressure was considerably lower compared to when I was living here 20 years ago.” During his time in Chivay, Robert learned that several of Chivay’s community members had shared similar observations regarding a decrease in water pressure.

While on an excursion to an outpost on Mismi Peak, approximately 5 200 m above sea level, Robert passed the Ajuyani Lagoon. According to local testimonies, the lagoon used to host a rich trout population, but as the glacier that fed the lagoon retreated, the lagoon shrunk to about one-fifth of its previous size and the trout population completely perished. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s Fifth Assessment Report, a continued retreatment of the tropical Andean glaciers is foreseen, and their complete disappearance could occur during the next 20-50 years. This will likely pose a major challenge to Peru and the other Andean countries where these glaciers serve as natural “water towers” for large parts of the population during dry season.

Recently, Chivay has seen the cement pipes that once formed the blood vessels of its potable water distribution network being replaced with new polymerized vinyl chloride (PVC) plastic pipes. In addition to upgrading the pipe network, the water authorities in Chivay are about to embark on the construction of a water pump station and new water treatment facilities for both potable and sewage water. Through these initiatives, Chivay is preparing itself for the water supply challenges that climate change and an increasing population pose on the municipality.

Robert Nylander is currently volunteering with the Water and Mountains Team of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in Rome, Italy.

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Photo: FAO/Robert Nylander