ENVIRONMENT-SOUTH AMERICA: Mapping the
Riches of the Tropical Andes
By Humberto
Márquez*
CARACAS (Tierramérica) - The
Ecosystems Map of the Northern and Central
Andes could serve as a guide for
environmental conservation of this South
American area covering 1.5 million square
kilometres and holding the world's highest
concentration of biodiversity.
The tropical Andes, the stretch of the
mountain range that includes the Central
Andes (Bolivia and Peru) and Northern Andes
(Ecuador, Colombia and Venezuela), were
dubbed the "global epicentre of
biodiversity" by British ecologist Norman
Myers.
The zone holds 45,000 types of plants
(20,000 of which are endemic) and 3,400
vertebrate animal species (more than 1,500
of which are endemic) on just one percent of
the planet's land surface, according to
figures from Conservation International.
These riches "are distributed among 133
specific ecosystems that we have inventoried
for our map of areas at more than 500 metres
of altitude, of which 77 are in Peru, 69 in
Bolivia, 31 in Ecuador, 22 in Colombia and
21 in Venezuela," environmentalist Eulogio
Chacón-Moreno, head of the project in
Venezuela, told Tierramérica.
The map, initially presented in April, was
conceived as a tool to "identify gaps and
priorities for conservation in the national
agencies for protected areas, and to develop
a set of indicators that allows us to assess
the state of conservation of the Andean
ecosystems," said Chacón-Moreno.
Such is the case of the "páramos", treeless
high plateaus "with a high percentage of
endemic species, unique diversity for the
way the species interrelate, and a highly
important source of freshwater," Vanessa
Cartaya, of the regional Andean Páramo
Project, sponsored by the Global Environment
Facility, told Tierramérica.
Cartaya underscored that the intensification
of land use, expansion of the agricultural
frontier, growing urbanisation and increased
demand for potable water, as well as climate
change, "affect the páramos to a great
extent, making it essential to determine
which areas are the priority for action."
The páramos are situated between 3,000 and
4,500 metres above sea level in the Northern
and Central Andes, with temperature,
humidity, sunshine, rain and wind factors
that make them quite different from the
lower altitude tropics that surround them.
The high altitude flower known in Spanish as
"frailejón" (Espeletia neriifolia) is
emblematic of this ecosystem.
"The páramo functions like a sponge,
absorbing rainwater before filtering and
releasing it" into other ecosystems, states
the text that accompanies the map. The
mountaintops hold remnants of glaciers and
lakes that feed streams and springs.
The project was based on studies and maps
available from national institutes,
standardising their data. Some of the maps
used are: the Vegetation Map of Bolivia, Map
of Ecosystems of the Colombian Andes, Map of
Ecuador's Continental Ecological Systems,
Forest Map of Peru, and the Map of
Ecological Units of Mérida, Venezuela.
Plans are in the works to publish an atlas
in 2010, with a preliminary version already
available on the Internet.
The mapping effort is a contribution to the
Environmental Agenda of the Andean Community
trade bloc (Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and
Peru) as a guide to design and coordinate
policies among the national environmental
agencies, focusing on three themes:
biodiversity, climate change and water
resources.
Backing the project are the Spanish Agency
for International Development Cooperation,
Spain's Ministry of the Environment, and the
Swiss Agency for Development and
Cooperation. The work has been coordinated
by NatureServe, a non-profit conservation
organisation, and the Consortium for
Sustainable Development of the Andean
Eco-Region.
Chacón-Moreno said the mapping will pave the
way for studies "to identify ecosystems with
more intense dynamics and patterns of
fragmentation, which will serve as input to
guide conservation policies."
Furthermore, experts will be able to "assess
the vulnerability of Andean ecosystems
through vegetation distribution models in
scenarios of climate change and land-use
change," he added.
For example, the Institute of Environmental
and Ecological Sciences at the Venezuelan
University of the Andes, led by Chacón-Moreno,
has studied the spread of the mountainous
cloud forest to the heights of the páramos
in the highest sierras of southwest
Venezuela, with records from 1952 to 1999
"showing how the páramo area has been
reduced with the passing of the decades."
"The changes in vegetation cover demonstrate
the effects of climate anomalies. In this
respect, the map and the studies that
support it allow the study across an entire
region using a single standardised system of
classification," said the expert.
A database will be a "planning tool that
contains information about biodiversity,"
communities and ecosystems, according to
Chacón-Moreno.
Of the 133 ecosystems identified, the most
extensive is the High Andean Wet Scrubland (Puna
Húmeda), covering nearly 10 million hectares
in Peru and Bolivia, just 6.8 percent of
which is officially protected.
"Human use has greatly influenced the
structure of these landscapes, subjected
over the centuries to tree cutting and
cyclical burns, so criteria need to be
developed to better evaluate the natural
landscapes," which would lead to better
understanding of the conservation of the
Central Andes ecosystems, says the report
that accompanies the map.
The Tropical Andes run 4,000 km north-south.
Few mountaintops are lower than 2,000 metres
in altitude, and most of the landscape is
steep inclines, deep gullies, vast valley
floors, and sharp peaks.
In the Central Andes, a vast "altiplano" or
high plain is formed at more than 3,500
metres above sea level in southern Peru and
western Bolivia.
The altiplano's towns and villages are home
to more than 40 million people who rely
heavily on the natural goods and services of
the Andean ecosystems, including grains,
fruit and vegetables produced in the area.
"The map has also been proposed as an
information and education tool for
communities about the potential of their
surroundings and the importance of
preserving it, in order to obtain clean
water and sustenance, as well as enjoying
the beauty of the landscape," said Cartaya.
(*This story was originally published by
Latin American newspapers that are part of
the Tierramérica network. Tierramérica is a
specialised news service produced by IPS
with the backing of the United Nations
Development Programme, United Nations
Environment Programme and the World Bank.)
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
