Laguna Miscanti in the northern Andes of Chile
Lead CCASS Contact: Christopher Scott
The Andes mountain range in South America supplies water resources to both Chile and Argentina that are critical to agriculture, mining, and growing populations, but these resources are threatened by changes in precipitation and climate. Research teams from CONICET (Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Tecnológicas) in Argentina, Pontíficia Universidad Católica de Chile (PUCC) and the UA’s Udall Center for Studies in Public Policy are working to identify changes in infrastructure needed to adapt water resources management effectively in both countries. A binational team facilitated by the Udall Center and UA postdoctoral scholar Rafael de Grenade are characterizing transboundary water resources in this region, and comparing governance, adaptive strategies, science-policy dialogue processes, and water-security solutions on both sides of the central Andes range.
Additional work applying hydrosocial analysis of adaptation plans for water resources in this mountain region is being done by UA graduate students Megan Mills-Novoa, Sophia Borgias, Arica Crootof, and Bhuwan Thapa.
Related publication:
- Mills-Novoa, M., S.L. Borgias, A. Crootof, B. Thapa, R. de Grenade, and C.A. Scott, 2017. Bringing the hydrosocial cycle into climate change adaptation planning: Lessons from two Andean Mountain water towers. Annals of the American Association of Geographers, 107(2): 393-402. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/24694452.2016.1232618
Funding from: International Water Security Network, Lloyds Register Foundation, National Science Foundation, U.S. Agency for International Development, U.S. National Academies of Science