1.6). In Peru, since 1970, there has been a substantial reduction in the surface area of the smaller glaciers, along with a significant loss in water reserves during the last 50 years (NC-Peru, 2001). Since the mid-1990s, the Chacaltaya glacier in the Plurinational State of Bolivia has lost half of its surface area and two thirds of its volume, endangering its long-term sustainability (Francou et al., 2003).


Retreat of tropical glaciers


Likewise, the San Quintín glacier in North Patagonia, in addition to rapidly decreasing in size, has also been exhibiting cracks and fractures in recent years (figure 1.7). In Colombia, between 1959 and 1996, the snowcapped volcano of Santa Isabel showed a 44% decrease in its ice-covered peak, and this process has continued, causing it to lose its attraction as a tourist site, with significant economic consequences (figure 1.8).


Rapid decline of the San Quintin glacier, Northern Patagonia


1950 Colombia 1976 Ecuador 1994 1970 San Quintin Glacier 1950 Venezuela Former glacier area


Glacier terminus 1975 Peru


Total glaciers surface


2006 Km2 2 000 Glacier terminus


1 000 500


Cracks and small glacier fragments


Bolivia N 2002


Source: CAN, UNEP and Spanish Agency for International Cooperation, ¿El fin de las cumbres nevadas? Glaciares y Cambio Climático en la Comunidad Andina, 2007.


Figure 1.6c


Sources: NASA, 2003; Rignot, 2003. Figure 1.7


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