On March 14 and 15, Peru’s National Water Authority (ANA), responsible for the national coordination of the Amazon Basin Project, met with community authorities from Pacaje-Huanutuyo and Untuca, in the Puno region, to strengthen the alliance for the installation and operation of hydrometric and glaciological stations in the Carabaya and Apolobamba Andean mountain ranges. The ANA delegation included representatives from the Directorate of Water Resources Planning and Development (DPDRH), the Madre de Dios Water Management Authority, the Tambopata Inambari Local Water Administration, among others.

In the Puno region, the melting of glaciers due to global warming is directly affecting the availability of surface and groundwater and the supply of water to communities for various uses, such as irrigation and livestock. Through hydrometric and glaciological monitoring, the Amazon Basin Project (ACTO/UNEP/GEF) and ANA intend to offer water supply alternatives to local communities. The intervention will also implement proposed solutions for the efficient use of water resources.

The communal authorities informed ANA of the main problems they had observed in relation to the communities’ water resources and highlighted, in addition to the decrease in water availability, the existence of contamination in some of the supply sources. For this reason, they requested the National Water Authority to carry out socialization, awareness and training workshops for the population to disseminate the water culture in the region. Two workshops are scheduled for April 17 and 18.

In order to obtain a representative sample of the most relevant aspects related to water resources and glacial retreat in the communities of Pacaje-Huanutuyo and Untuca, ANA is processing the information collected in March through surveys and interviews with the population. The exhibition will serve as input for the organization of the April workshops.

The waters of the Limbani, Huari Huari and San Gaban rivers flow from the snow-capped mountain ranges of Carabaya and Apolobamba, where two meteorological glaciological glaciological monitoring stations and two hydrometric stations will be installed. These rivers swell the Amazonian Inambari River and supply water directly to a population of 30,727 people and indirectly to more than 220,000 inhabitants of the provinces of Carabaya and Sandia, in the Puno region. In this sense, the participation and support of the communities in the area is crucial for the sustainable supply of water and its efficient use.