In order to protect the Amazon rain forest as well, we need to start in the Andes

In order to protect the Amazon rain forest as well, we need to start in the Andes

If the Amazon rainforest are the lungs of the planet, the Andes are its lifeblood. last remaining hotspots in the world for agro-biodiversity, the region is the source of many important species and nutritionally super food grains like amaranth and quinoa; Pulse Lupine and Maca roots that underpin ecosystems, economies and diets. At the same time, agriculture at the highest altitudes in the world is acutely threatened by climate change, with increasingly extreme droughts, hailstorms and frosts. Home to more than 85 of the 110 climate zones, in the Andes is a living laboratory for the advancement both in climate science and the understanding of their impact on the environment for food systems. For scientists, this offers a huge opportunity. Through a better understanding of the extremes experienced in the Andes and how the environment, agro-biodiversity and people to adjust, we can be better prepared for what happened elsewhere, as a result of the extreme and unpredictable weather conditions. For example, the temperature increases affect the size and the spread of thousands of kilometers of glaciers that extend Andes. This would have an impact not only the ecosystems of the coastal mountains and valleys, but also the individual river basins of the Amazon. In the rivers near the Andes, like the Vilcanota in Peru and La Paz in Bolivia, offers glaciers melt at 50% or more of water. Reduced melting glaciers could cause some rivers in the dry season to dry, so be done in communities along the river use water without a vital source of irrigation unless the investment. The examination of the impact of rising temperatures on glaciers and thawing in the Andes could provide valuable information not only lead to the future of the Amazon Andean region, but also for other tropical mountain regions, where climate change will impact water supply probably downstream. In addition, there are many advantages better the contribution of the Andean region as a carbon double sinks to understand, with its mountain peat lands and tropical forest. Large amounts of carbon sequestration is currently little known or studied, but the volume of carbon stocks in peat bogs in the Andes are similar to those in the Amazon and offers an excellent opportunity to mitigate climate change. Meanwhile, extreme weather conditions in the Andes already contributing to migration, a role in the decision of many mountain farmers play plains in search of more productive farmland and alternative work to move. There are indications that the new settlers contributing to deforestation in the Amazon, as they try to get their crop to grow due to limited understanding of land management in different environments. Perhaps even worse is the fact that the majority of domestic migrants in urban slums lacking at the end of the infrastructure and public services needed for the influx. On the other hand, awareness of the cultural and culinary diversity of the region is growing creates new opportunities for rural entrepreneurship. to promote traditional food projects in niche markets and bring the value must return to land by the rural tourism untapped so far untouched recesses resilience and have shown that it is possible ways sustainable and comfortable to live in the Andes. In fact, there are enormous investment potentials in the single biome of the Andes and the bio-economy, and the large number of varieties available there and nowhere else. The growing interest in native species such as quinoa and lupine CAN quality markets and companies that prioritize sustainability and supporting diversity. Successful examples are Mater Iniciativa the Michelin chef Virgilio Martinez, and public-private partnerships, which tripled the value of exports grew by Peruvian varieties of native potatoes between 2010 and 2015. By studying the effects of extreme conditions on major cultures in the Andes, we have these gains can save and improve to become a growing demand for sustainable food, especially in emerging countries meet bit ‘to get even rural incomes and living conditions and reduce the need for Andean people elsewhere to move . It will not be easy. It could mean the Andean potato farmers in environmentally friendly practices of training climate, or farmers to survive to pass on new plant varieties that are better able to new climatic conditions. But he found for the protection of agricultural diversity in the Andes, and the use of their resistance to extreme weather events happening faster elsewhere, we can learn important lessons to help the rest of the world, the climate survive an emergency.
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