ADAPTING TO CHANGE IN THE ANDEAN HIGHLANDS Practices and Strategies to Address Climate and Market Risks in Vulnerable Agro- Ecosystems Valdivia, C. Brown Bag Seminar Agricultural Economics Department MU Oct

A SANREM CRSP Project  SANREM: Sustainable Agriculture and Natural Resource Management  CRSP: Collaborative Research Support Program  Title XII USAID

SANREM CRSP (ME Virginia Tech) Regions  Africa, Andes, Asia: Zambia (1), Uganda (1), Kenya (1), Bolivia (3), Ecuador (1), Peru (1), Mexico(1), Vietnam Themes  Biodiversity  Governance and policy  Soils and Water Quality  Watershed management  Gender  Systems Interactions ______________________________________________________________________________________ Annual Meeting Blacksburg, Virginia April 2006

Participatory Consultations Time Line Development Participatory Mapping Community Large Group Discussions Focus Groups

Themes that emerged Spatial variability in the presentation of droughts, floods, frosts, and hail events Concerns vary according to location, production activities, technological alternatives: loss of animals, loss of crops, raw materials Increased food insecurity and loss of assets Local knowledge systems uncertain

Spiraling Down of Capitals Decline in financial capital. Decline in political capital Spiraling down Climate shocks Decline in natural capital Decline in human capital (outmigration) Decline in social capital Decline in cultural capital Decline in built capital

Are there practices and strategies that reverse these processes?. Spiraling up Human capital Built capital (technology) Social capital Natural capital Political capital Cultural capital Financial capital

Our Project Period: January 2006 September 2009 Ecosystem: Central and Northern Altiplano of Bolivian, Southern Altiplano of Peru Themes: Vulnerability, markets, climate, biodiversity General Objective: reduction of vulnerability of Andean livelihoods while protecting biodiversity of the resources they manage

Collaborators Bolivia  Universidad de La Cordillera  Universidad Mayor San Andrés  Fundación PROINPA La Paz Peru  Universidad Nacional Agraria La Molina – IPPS International Centers Centro Internacional de la Papa USA  University of Missouri Columbia (MU)  Kansas State University (KSU)  University of Connecticut (U Conn)  Iowa State University (ISU)

Collaborators and Stakeholders  MU – DASS Households, markets, networks, risk (Valdivia, Gilles)  MU – SNR Soils (Motavalli)  KSU – Pests and diseases  U Connecticut – Climatology and forecasts  ISU – Coalition Negotiation Capitals  Fundación PROINPA – Indigenous crops – participatory approaches - women groups - marketing strategies  UMSA – College of Agronomy and Institute of Agricultural Research Climatology & Production Systems  UNALM - IPPS and MSc Innovation for Ag Development - Participatory Methodologies  CIPCA – Apolobamba  CIP - NRM ecosystems & Pests and Diseases  UNDP – civil society participation and climate change  WFP – vulnerability mapping  MAPA – USAID Market linkages

Challenges and Opportunities

Climate impacts Droughts Frosts Floods Hail Snow Multiple Shock Events

Objectives (Research & Development)  Objective 1: “Shared understanding of ecosystem, social and economic drivers of change”. Develop measures and indicators of ecosystem and livelihood wellbeing through participatory research integrating disciplinary and holistic understanding of system’s constraints.  Objective 2: “Understand how livelihood strategies develop in response to perceptions of the relative risks of changes, and their assets” Evaluate farmer perceptions of soil conditions, production system changes, pests, diseases, and climate risks.

Objectives (cont.)  Objective 3: “Explicitly link local and new knowledge to produce practices and information alternatives for adapting to change”. Adapted varieties, soil and pest management practices, information.  Objective 4: “Market access strategies and institutions that contribute to resilience”. Evaluate markets to identify integration strategies that contribute to resilience.  Objective 5: “Strengthening and sharing capacities”. Increase the capacity for collaboration between communities and stakeholders.

Where?

Locations Umala and Ancoraimes In Bolivia Puno in Peru

How did I spend my summer?

What I did last summer…

Thank you Questions