BIODIVERSITY AND CLIMATE CHANGE IN THE ANDEAN COMMUNITY

What are the Andean States Doing Regarding Biodiversity Lost in Their Paramos?
Jimena Murillo ChvarroGhent University
Biodiversity and Climate Change in the Andean Community Jimena Murillo Chvarro - 16/09/2010Department of Public International Law PhD Researcher.

Biodiversity and Climate Change in the Andean Community Jimena Murillo Chvarro - 16/09/2010Department 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 themesBiodiversity Climate Change Water Resources

Cross-cutting issuesCapacity building for trade, environmental and sustainable development, environmental education and sustainable production and consumption.

Andean Environmental Agenda
BiodiversityDecision 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 Change2. 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 CBDs 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.

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 Chvarro - 16/09/2010Department of Public International Law PhD Researcher.

*