Andes

Agricultural and settlement frontiers in the tropical Andes: The páramo belt of northern Ecuador, 1960–1990
This doctoral thesis addresses one of the fundemental issues and problems of many tropical mountain regions: high altitude ecological changes and environmental degradation under the impact of agricultural activities.  In the equatorial Andes of Ecuador, the ecologically sensitive herbaceous belt of the páramos, traditionally used for extensive pastoral activities and some field...
Climate and hydrology in mountain areas

The characteristics of climate and hydrology in mountain areas remain poorly understood relative to lowland areas. High spacial and temporal variability in precipitation, runoff and subsurface flow processes, and stream flow, as well as sparse instrumentation networks and limited historical records of climate and hydrology, contribute to limited understanding of the distribution and movement...

Pursuing the Millennium Development Goals in the Andean altiplano: Building on CIP project experience with poverty alleviation and sustainable development
The International Potato Center (CIP) has had an evolving research-for-development agenda that includes potatoes, sweet potatoes, Andean roots and tubers, and sustainable use of natural resources in mountains. In 2003, CIP completed a participatory Vision Exercise that led to prioritization of seven development challenges that reflect eight of the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). In...
Religious practices in the Andes and their relevance to political struggle and development: The case of El Tío and miners in Bolivia
For the native population in the Andes, the mountains are sacred places and central elements of a mythical historical identity, since the founding fathers, according to Inca legend, arose out of the land. In honour of this tradition, the mountains are objects of worship: one asks for their protection, while returning, through sacrifice, the wealth obtained from the earth. The mountains,...
Peru's approach to climate change in the Andean mountain region: Achieving multidisciplinary regional cooperation for integrated assessment of climate change
Climate change aggravates the challenges of sustainable development in mountain regions and calls for deeper insights into impacts on the vulnerability of mountain people and their options for adapting to changing conditions. Peru is considered highly vulnerable to climate change. Therefore, its government has initiated a programme to strengthen the capacity for transdisciplinary research in...
Land use change and mountain biodiversity
Human activities have significantly influenced high elevation landscapes and hence also biodiversity of high-elevation patures and rangelands all over the world.  During the last five decades, there have been dramatic changes in land use which has impacted biodiversity within high mountain ecosystems.
Development with identity: Community, culture and sustainability in the Andes

In the discussion on development research in indigenous farming comunities in the Andes, there is widespread agrement on the need for a genuine participatory approach. However, it has often been difficult to implement.  Sometime, western-based concepts and methods cannot be harmonised with the value or knowledge systems of small peasant families and indigenous populations.  Often...

Use of visual material for eliciting shepherds' perceptions of grassland in highland Peru
People's perceptions of their environment in high mountain rangelands ultimately affect the fragile ecosystems on which they depend, and thus their welfare. This is especially true in developing countries, where the livelihoods of people living in such ecosystems depend on grazing livestock. The present study, conducted in the central mountain region of Peru, used photographs and Q...
The role of social learning processes in the emergence and development of Aymara land use systems

A typical traditional Andean land-use system was analysed as the outcome of long-term social learning processes. From this perspective the land-use system is the result of coevolution between society and nature, representing a successive embodiment of ethical principles corresponding to different periods in history. Ethical principles, understood in this study as the main values in which...

Desastres de Origen Natural en Colombia 1979-2004

<div align="justify">The 1985 eruption of the Colombian volcano Nevado del Ruiz was a wake-up call to understand and comunicate the risk of natural disasters in Colombia and other mountainous countries. The eruption and subsequent lahar caused more than 20,000 lives to be lost. The geographical and historical contexts, socioeconomic and environmental effects and painful lessons...

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