Climate change is taking a toll in Peru as the world’s “tropical glaciers” which overshadow the South American nation have begun to shrink, raising concern over the country’s ability to adapt to the changing conditions.
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While Peru's glaciers are not the largest in the world, they make up 70 percent of the world’s tropical glaciers. Researchers warn that icefall from one could wash away an entire town, drowning its inhabitants under billions of gallons of water.
A few weeks ago, a report was radioed in that an ice chunk the size of a dump truck had broken off Mount Pucaranra, a glacier in the Cordillera Blanca, and crashed down into the waters of Lake Palcacocha below. The ice mass created waves 9 feet high, damaging the emergency drainage system and threatening to burst the dam protecting the town.
"We have glaciers across 19 - no, 18 - mountain ranges," said Marco Zapata, head of the Peruvian Institute of Glacier Research. “They’re all shrinking.”
This is set to have a dramatic impact on the Peruvian communities living in the glacier’s shadows which depend on glaciers for water, food and hydroelectricity.
"Identifying risks is one thing, but doing something about them is another," Nelson Santillan, a researcher at Peru's National Water Authority, stated.
The effects of climate change are expected to particularly hurt Peru's Indigenous communities.
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Last year, droughts in the city of Soledad caused panic among Quechua-speaking villagers with residents blaming the modern contraptions for the sudden change in weather.
Emergency warning systems which were installed by nonprofit groups and scientists to alert the city in case the dam broke were ripped away, leaving the city defenseless against the natural forces.
“For countries like Peru that are trying to climb out of poverty, there are major social, cultural and economic obstacles to adaptation," Santillan explained.
The government is investigating strategies to manage the growing threat of climate change, mainly focusing on preventative measures although these run around US$7 million dollars, according to Environment Ministry officials.
"In the end, it's a matter of effective government," said Jahir Ancaima, head of the CARE Peru office in Huaraz. "We've been focused on future flood risks, but that's not the biggest worry for these farmers. They want projects that give them access to water, and they want them now."