Transcript biodiversity and climate change in the andean community

What are the Andean States Doing
Regarding Biodiversity Lost in Their
Paramos?
Jimena Murillo Chávarro
Ghent University
Biodiversity and Climate Change in the Andean Community –Jimena Murillo Chávarro - 16/09/2010
Department of Public International Law– PhD Researcher.
The Andean Community is composed
of Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru
• This are four out of
the seventeen
megadiverse
countries in the
world.
Institutions of the Andean Community (CAN)
•
•
•
•
•
Andean Presidential council (policy-maker)
Commission (legislative institutions)
Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs (legislative institution)
General Secretariat (executive body)
Andean Parliament (deliberative body, but it does not have legislative
power yet, only right of initiative)
• Court of justice of the Andean Community (judicial power)
1999 Andean Presidential Council gave a mandate to work
on the consensus for a community policy and strategies on
environmental management and sustainable development.
• Guidelines for environmental management and
sustainable development in the Andean Community.
• Plan for follow-up in the Johannesburg Summit (2003 2005).
• Andean Environmental Agenda 2006-2010.
Andean Environmental Agenda
Main themes
• Biodiversity
• Climate Change
• Water Resources
Cross-cutting issues
• Capacity building for trade, environmental and
sustainable development, environmental education and
sustainable production and consumption.
Andean Environmental Agenda
• Biodiversity
Decision 523 on the
Regional Biodiversity
Strategy for the
Tropical Andean
Countries
(RBS)
Action plans and portfolio
of projects
• Climate Change.
1. the Andean Strategy on Climate
Change
2. Vulnerability, Adaptation and
Mitigation,
3. Natural Disasters Associated with
Climate Change,
4. Clean Development Mechanisms, and
5. Renewable Energy and Energy
Efficiency.
Andean Environmental Agenda, common areas
• Biodiversity
RBS established as a contribution for the MS
to comply with the obligations of the
CBD.
RBS identifies Paramos as a priority
ecosystem for protection. The conditions
of high diversity and extreme vulnerability
(economic, social, environmental) of the
montane ecosystem call for integrated
management, using an ecosystem
approach that will be sustainable and
contribute to job creation and mitigation
of poverty.
• Climate change
-Vulnerability, Adaptation and
Mitigation.
the objective is to determine the
effects of climate change on
the Andean Plains (paramo).
So, it is necessary to validate
scientific guidelines for the
evaluation of climate change in
paramo and glaciers areas.
the Paramo
• It is a grassland
ecosystem located in the
high elevations ,
between the upper forest
line (about 3000 m
altitude) and the
permanent snow line
about 5000m. It consists
of accidented, mostly
glacier formed valleys
and plains with a large
variety of lakes, peat
bogs and wet
grasslands.
Threats to Paramo biodiversity:
overgrazing, advance of agriculture encroaching on paramo, uncontrolled
fire, water demand, ill-planned regional development programs, climate
change, which makes species and vegetation to migrate upwards.
Regional Biodiversity Strategy
• Project “Conservation of the Biodiversity of the Paramo in the Northern
and Central Andes (Paramo Project)”.
-Threats to biodiversity will be mitigated through implementation of in-situ
protection and sustainable land use activities
-It applies the CBD’s ecosystem approach (Decision V/6), and also address
issues of agrobiodiversity and mountain biodiversity (Decision VII/27).
-Finance by the GEF and executed by CONDESAN and national agencies.
-There are 9 pilots sites and 1 pristine area use as a reference point.
Tuñame
Gavidia
Belmira
Rabanal
El Duende
Chiles
Mojanda-Zuleta
Llangahua
Loja-Piura
Cajamarca
Sites of the project
Climate change: vulnerability, mitigation and adaptation
•
Project “Monitoring the Impacts of Climate Change on Biodiversity of High
Mountains in the Andean Region”.
-
This project will implement the GLORIA methodology, which offers a standard
methodology to monitor in the long term the impacts of climate change on the
biodiversity , in order to know the real risk and to establish conservation
strategies.
-
Financed by the Agencia Espanola de Cooperacion International para el
Desarrolllo (AECID), and executed by the General Secretariat of the CAN with
the support of CONDESAN.
-
There are 9 possible sites, two of which coincide with site of the Paramo Project
(Piura and el Duende).
Common elements between the two projects:
• The main executing organization of both projects is CONDESA,
• Two identical Paramo areas (El Duende and Pacaipampa in Puira)
• The project “monitoring of the effect of climate change on the
biodiversity in the high mountains”, will contribute to:
1. Give information regarding the real risks, so policy maker can take
informed decisions.
2. The implementation of the RBS regarding the development,
reinforce and share of scientific research on biodiversity.
Conclusions
• Thanks to the Andean Environmental Agenda, it is possible to see a
connection between is main themes: biodiversity, climate change and
water resources.
• As the CAN lacks of financial resources to implement the Andean
Environmental Agenda as a whole, it decided to priorities its activities.
Therefore, Paramos were chosen as a priority transboundary
ecosystem, in both areas: biodiversity and Climate change.
• The two studied projects show that the Andean States are working on
biodiversity and climate change issues to protect their Paramos.
Thank you for your attention !
Biodiversity and Climate Change in the Andean Community –Jimena Murillo Chávarro - 16/09/2010
Department of Public International Law– PhD Researcher.