Bajando la montaña: entendiendo la vulnerabilidad de las comunidades andinas a la variabilidad hidroclimatológica y el cambio ambiental global

The document analyzes the vulnerability of agricultural communities in three Andean river basins (Mendoza, Argentina; Choquecota, Bolivia; and Elqui, Chile) to climate variability. It finds that adaptation capacity is critically limited by poor institutional coordination, lack of water data, and absence of early warning systems. While stronger state frameworks in Argentina and Chile benefit large commercial producers, poor populations remain highly vulnerable. In Bolivia, the lack of state presence makes traditional farmers particularly susceptible, relying primarily on traditional knowledge for adaptation.

• Current adaptation capacities of farmers and local and regional governments in the studied basins are insufficient to efficiently address emerging climate change challenges and future extreme weather events.
• Institutional limitations hindering adaptation include poor coordination between public institutions, a lack of available water data, and the absence of integrated water resource management.
• While stronger institutional frameworks in Argentina and Chile provide some protection for large commercial producers, they do not necessarily increase adaptation capacity for poor and vulnerable groups. In contrast, the population in Bolivia's Choquecota basin is highly vulnerable due to a weaker state presence and a reliance on traditional agriculture for family consumption and local markets, making their adaptation dependent on traditional knowledge and resource access.
• Agricultural producers across all three basins are sensitive to climate variability and exposed by water availability limits, with the highest vulnerability found among those already facing social and economic pressures.
• A lack of access to early warning systems and necessary institutional support prevents communities in the three basins from anticipating or responding to sudden climate emergencies, significantly reducing their adaptation capacity.

APA

Gauthier, D., Santibañez-Quezada, F., Brown, C., Diaz, H. (., Garay-Flühmann, R., McDowell, J. Z., Montaña, E. C., Reyes, B., & Bravo, S. S. (2024). Bajando la montaña: entendiendo la vulnerabilidad de las comunidades andinas a la variabilidad hidroclimatológica y el cambio ambiental global. Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research. https://iai.int/es/bajando-la-montana-entendiendo-la-vulnerabilidad-de-las-comunidades-andinas-a-la-variabilidad-hidroclimatologica-y-el-cambio-ambiental-global-sgp-hd-004/

Chicago

Gauthier, David, Fernando Santibañez-Quezada, Casey Brown, Harry (Polo) Diaz, Rosa Garay-Flühmann, Julia Z. McDowell, Elma Carmen Montaña, Bernardo Reyes, and Sonia Salas Bravo. Bajando la montaña: entendiendo la vulnerabilidad de las comunidades andinas a la variabilidad hidroclimatológica y el cambio ambiental global. Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research, 2024. https://iai.int/es/bajando-la-montana-entendiendo-la-vulnerabilidad-de-las-comunidades-andinas-a-la-variabilidad-hidroclimatologica-y-el-cambio-ambiental-global-sgp-hd-004/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Gauthier |first1=David |last2=Santibañez-Quezada |first2=Fernando |last3=Brown |first3=Casey |last4=Diaz |first4=Harry (Polo) |last5=Garay-Flühmann |first5=Rosa |last6=McDowell |first6=Julia Z. |last7=Montaña |first7=Elma Carmen |last8=Reyes |first8=Bernardo |last9=Bravo |first9=Sonia Salas |title=Bajando la montaña: entendiendo la vulnerabilidad de las comunidades andinas a la variabilidad hidroclimatológica y el cambio ambiental global |publisher=Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research |date=16 September 2024 |url=https://iai.int/es/bajando-la-montana-entendiendo-la-vulnerabilidad-de-las-comunidades-andinas-a-la-variabilidad-hidroclimatologica-y-el-cambio-ambiental-global-sgp-hd-004/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{gauthier2024bajando, author = {Gauthier, David and Santibañez-Quezada, Fernando and Brown, Casey and Diaz, Harry (Polo) and Garay-Flühmann, Rosa and McDowell, Julia Z. and Montaña, Elma Carmen and Reyes, Bernardo and Bravo, Sonia Salas}, title = {{Bajando la montaña: entendiendo la vulnerabilidad de las comunidades andinas a la variabilidad hidroclimatológica y el cambio ambiental global}}, institution = {Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research}, year = {2024}, month = sep, url = {https://iai.int/es/bajando-la-montana-entendiendo-la-vulnerabilidad-de-las-comunidades-andinas-a-la-variabilidad-hidroclimatologica-y-el-cambio-ambiental-global-sgp-hd-004/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }