How many of us are aware that the mountains of the Andean area of the region are decisive for the life of the continent, that they provide fresh water that consumes more than half on earth, they are home to great biodiversity, they are places of spirituality and recreation for millions of people.
Unfortunately these precious mountainous ecosystems are beset by climate change (greenhouse effect), polluting mining, environmental degradation due to the depredation of natural flora and fauna, adoption of inappropriate production technologies and social conflicts.
Consequently, the people of the high Andean areas (mountains) remain one of the poorest and most disadvantaged groups on earth.
Mountain populations are always forgotten, isolated and marginalized, because they have few opportunities to participate in the market economy, their influence on the decisions that affect their lives and their natural environment is scarce, if not null.
Therefore, the concerted action of all parties is required: United Nations agencies, the state, civil society, the private sector, the media and the mountain population itself, in order to produce a significant change and lasting in our mountains, making ours the agreements of the Alliance for Mountains that must become a dynamic force in favor of change to form an important Andean territory.
Let's not forget that mountains are reservoirs of high biodiversity (biological, ecosystems, and cultures) that have become specialized over long periods of time, given their isolation. They can conserve already destroyed species in lowlands (for example, in the Andes there are hundreds of varieties of native and wild potatoes, cereals and legumes).
The plants and animals of the mountains survive in adverse environmental conditions because they possess exceptional adaptive qualities that allow them to develop and reproduce. Precisely this adaptation to site-specific characteristics forms one of the theories that partially explains the endemism found in the mountains, through the process of speciation.
Likewise, mountains are important guardians of several essential resources for human populations: water, wood, fauna, soils, non-timber forest products, and they receive, filter, store and distribute rainwater. On the other hand, cloud forests in the mountains function as condensers of water and can add between 7 and 160% of additional water.
Mountains are fragile, and due to their low temperatures ecological processes are slower, which means that a reversible environmental disturbance will take longer to recover. Mountains often have unstable terrain, especially if they have been deforested.
Erosion and landslides pose imminent risks on steep slopes without forest cover. Global warming brings with it other complications, such as the melting of glaciers faster than normal.
The inhabitants of the high Andean areas are the best connoisseurs of the biodiversity of the mountains, of the complex relationships between their components and of the traditional uses of the species that develop in them. According to FAO, these populations are growing by 1% per year, putting the carrying capacity of many regions at risk, making it clear that poverty is closely related to the depredation of natural resources.
Our field experience in the territories of Cayna, Colpas and Mosca allows us to reaffirm that indeed our mountains are the repositories of fresh water that flows a vast territory and is lost in the Amazon without being used properly. Natural and domesticated biodiversity exposed to extinction, impoverished lands and populations adrift with no future. Regarding the water resource, although three-quarters of the planet is covered with water, 97% is salty. Of the remaining 3%, two-thirds are found on the polar caps and on mountain tops as perpetual ice and snow; Only 1% of the total water in the world is for human consumption and is very unevenly distributed:the regions and countries that possess it do not stop polluting and wasting it following the criteria of globalizing models of industrial and consumer development. In Peru, as in other countries, the social elites with economic power associated with the corrupt political class, provoke (directly or indirectly) the accelerated destruction of the forests, seriously altering the hydrological cycle on which the catchment and filtration of water is based. pure water.
In these times we are spectators of natural disasters due to extreme storms of droughts in certain areas and torrential rains in others, but we do not give importance to the causes; many attribute to variations of nature, others to God's designs; Few understand that the true cause is the destruction of valuable vegetation cover in our mountains, the inter-Andean valleys and the Amazonian forests, since the biotic components regulate the functioning of the ecosystems in terms of the use of matter, energy and information; Otherwise, it ensures the availability of greater natural resources, soil conservation, stability of water sources and streams and the production of safe and quality food.
If our mountains and slopes would regain their natural cover and better if the type of vegetation were improved, there would not be soil erosion, detachment and dragging rocks, plants and other forms of life that cause irreparable damage by destruction of crops, homes. and populated centers - the vegetation plays a buffer function and decreases the kinetic force of the rains, conservation of soil moisture and the stability of evapotranspiration phenomena and local biotemperature. Likewise, the accumulation of sediments and aggregates in the lower parts would be minimized, especially in the Amazon rainforest, which are exposed to serious problems of overflows and floods.
Therefore it is obvious that it is necessary to decide on actions aimed at protecting and rebuilding the ecosystems of the mountains and slopes of our territory. What to do then, for example in Huánuco:
- To know the water potential of the mountain water resource, both in lagoons and collecting sources of the Huallaga and Marañón basins. Determine the levels of contamination of the main water sources and decide the type of appropriate use and protection in harmony with existing standards Increase the water storage capacity in the main lagoons of the high Andean mountains and diversion for energy use, irrigation and human consumption Incorporate the water substrate for the production of hydrobiological species and use for afforestation and reforestation of slopes and inter-Andean valleys.
We invite you to exercise an activity:
Sit in a safe place and look around you… then close your eyes, relax and let yourself be carried away by your senses less by sight (smell, hearing, taste, touch)… take note of all the noises, sensations and smells you feel, fragrance of flowers, insect noises, wind, sensation of heat or cold, bird songs, the sound of a river, etc… Open your eyes, check your notes in your notebook and you will understand the amount of life and resources that exist in the mountains, diversity that many times we do not perceive when we only work with our eyes open on a daily basis.
If I have made myself understood in something, remember these principles:
- Decide and prepare your trip in advance Travel and camp in a safe place and a resistant area Dispose of your waste properly Respect wild and cultivated fauna Do not forget that water is part of us and the sustenance of life, let's take care of it! Minimize the impact of bonfires and your activities Leave what you find as it corresponds and ensure its protection We know that water is worth more than gold, however cyanide is used to extract the metal, a chemical element that is polluting In nature everything is written, let's learn to read them and interpret their message Human beings are part of ecosystems and their conservation is our responsibility.
