Peru is passing on ancestral know-how to tackle climate change

“We know how to connect our emotions to get in touch with nature, become one with it. That’s why, in the Quispillacta community (in the Ayacucho region), we are the guardians of water and we contribute to the preservation, harvesting and sustainable use of this resource”, says Magdalena Machaca, one of the founders of the association Bartolomé Aripaylla (ABA).

Magdalena and the “ABA women” took part in a meeting organised by AIDER (Asociación para la Investigación y Desarrollo Integral) in the presence of the Ayacucho authorities, community leaders, Renato Víquez, Ambassador of Costa Rica to Peru, Tatiana García, Head of Environment and Climate Change at the Delegation of the European Union to Peru, and Gustavo Solano, binational coordinator of the “Harvesting Water” project, a project supported by the EUROCLIMA+ programme.

During this meeting, Magdalena Machaca explained that her community had been seriously affected by the consequences of climate change for several years. With the reduction in rainfall, the population could have been weakened at several levels, in particular in terms of its food security. But this rainwater harvesting/collection technique has allowed the women to build 121 reservoirs for over 260,000 people.

According to the scientific platform Agua–Andes, the practice of “water harvesting” comes from ancestral know-how which involves storing rainwater, facilitating its infiltration and optimising its use during a drought. As Gustavo Solano adds, this technique allows communities to adapt to climate change while living in harmony with nature.

“Without the women from ABA, it wouldn’t have been possible to build these water reservoirs. Now, thanks to them, there is a system to conserve water. The water harvesting method is a low-cost local technique which has positive results in a very short space of time”, added G. Solano.

Intercultural transfer between indigenous peoples

Through this solidarity-based approach set up between Peru and Costa Rica to address the impacts of climate change, women from the association ABA went to Guanacaste Province, in Costa Rica, to teach local communities how to build the reservoirs. Five reservoirs have been built so far, with a capacity of 35,000 m3. 

This ancestral technique has also been passed on in the mountains of Piura, one of the largest cities in Peru, where the population is faced with droughts and floods caused by climate change. This has made it possible to build two reservoirs with a capacity of some 5,000 m3.

The technical assistance, the materials needed and the construction have been made possible by European Union financing and contributions from the implementing agencies, AIDER in Peru and FONAFIFO (Fondo Nacional de Financiamiento Forestal) in Costa Rica.

Concrete actions to adapt to the impacts of climate change

The project allows vulnerable populations in Peru and Costa Rica to further adapt to the impacts of climate change, which severely affect all Latin American countries. For example, Costa Rica has just faced the country’s worst drought in the last 75 years. iAgua cites the increase in greenhouse gas emissions as one of the causes.

Under the "Harvesting Water" project, Costa Rica also passes on its experience in ecosystem services to Peru. The objective is to give economic, social and environmental recognition to water conservation, while introducing compensation for the benefits generated by the use of this resource. These practices benefit both communities and countries.

Renato Víquez, Ambassador of Costa Rica to Peru, pointed out that Costa Rica’s vision is that it is necessary to protect nature as a whole, beyond simply its water resources. “We have opted for a development model where the focus is on nature and human beings”, he explained, emphasising the importance of a real awareness of climate change and of the implementation of measures to address it: “This project shows how important it is to protect natural resources and provides concrete measures to save the planet.”

Tatiana García, the European Union representative, described this technique as a concrete action to address climate change. “We are currently reviving ancestral know-how that is probably among the most ancient in Peru”, pointed out T. García, adding that the European Union’s commitment on the issue of climate change went beyond its borders. This is why the EU not only supports cooperation, but also the political dialogue with countries and governments in order to step up efforts to fight against climate change.

From local spirituality to global development

For the women of ABA, water is a living being which it is vital to respect by showing “tenderness and understanding”, says Magdalena. The spiritual load that goes with Andean know-how is today being passed on to communities in Costa Rica. Through its traditions, the Andean cosmovision (world view) creates a huge effort to protect water and nature that contributes to sustainable development. “Water brings us together and creates bonds, it’s why we must protect it”, says Magdalena.

EUROCLIMA+ is a programme financed by the European Union and cofinanced by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), as well as by the Governments of France and Spain. The objective of this programme is to promote environmentally sustainable and climate-resilient development in 18 Latin American countries, particularly for the benefit of the most vulnerable populations. It is jointly implemented by seven agencies: the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID), Agence Française de Développement (AFD), the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), Expertise France, the International and Ibero-American Foundation for Administration and Public Policy (FIIAPP), the German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).