Climate resilience | All change The impacts of climate change are being felt from the Andes-Amazon to the US
Right: The Huallaga River in Peru. The upper Huallaga Basin was recently part of a study to address the water-energy-food- ecosystems nexus within the Andes-Amazon
Below: Overview of Douglas Dam in Tennessee. The dam was instrumental to help prevent downstream flood damage during Hurricane Helene. Over a three- day period from 26 September 2024, Douglas Lake rose by almost 6.7m. The dam also set a new maximum hourly flow record, breaking the previous one set over 40 years ago
THE PRESERVATION OF NATURAL ecosystems has to be balanced alongside the growing demands of the water-energy-food sectors in the Andes-Amazon region – all in the face of imminent climate change. And in an effort to help food and energy systems adapt to climate change, researchers have developed a framework of catchment and hydropower models that consider climate and other uncertainties in the Andes. The upper Huallaga Basin is part of the Marañón River in Peru, which is a major tributary of the Amazon. It was recently part of a study to explore reducing sectoral conflicts when addressing the water-energy- food-ecosystems (WEFE) nexus within the Andes- Amazon. Understanding watershed processes and the multiple pressures and conflicting objectives that need to be reconciled between them, is considered to be a critical component to managing WEFE systems under climate change.
As Ding et al explain in their study in Communications Earth and Environment, the environmental challenges facing the Andean headwater basins of the Amazon have been under- explored in existing literature. These basins are not only key for providing food and income for thousands of rural and indigenous families, but could also play a key role in the regional transition to renewable energy. Characterised by a patchwork of native Andean ecosystems and family farming systems, agricultural productivity in the Huallaga Basin is low, with levels of economic poverty and undernutrition high. This therefore means improving agricultural livelihoods is a central issue for improving food security and advancing human development, the authors state. The upper Huallaga River also provides water
to the 450MW Chaglla Dam – Peru’s third largest hydroelectric plant.
34 | February 2025 |
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