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Glacier Deathwatch: Peru Edition
by Teresa Herrmann - May 22nd, 2008
The images of melting mountain glaciers speak loud and clear.
Evidence the Cordillera Blanca, aka the "Peruvian Switzerland."
The disappearing snow-topped northern mountain range -- a UNESCO-declared natural world heritage site -- topped the climate change agenda at last week's European Union-Latin America and Caribbean (EULAC) Summit, held in Lima, Peru.
And here's why.
In the 28 years between 1948 and 1976, the range diminished by nine meters. From 1997 until today -- just over one-third of that time -- it has lost 20 meters.
Time to sound the alarm. And Marco Zapata, the head of the glaciology unit of Peru's National Institute for Natural Resources, reminds us why:
It is known that the shrinking process of the glaciers is irreversible and nothing can be done.
Worse yet? Peru had more than 3,000 glaciers in an area of 2,041 square kilometers in 1989. Nine years later, the area was cut by a quarter, to 1,595 square kilometers. Today the loss is markedly greater.
The retreat of the glaciers means the loss of seven billion cubic meters of fresh water, too, reports Peru's Economic and Social Research Consortium.
Too bad then that the EULAC summit couldn't finish with a big climate policy bang that's needed.
Instead, it culminated with the signing of the Lima Declaration by the 60 participating countries (quite an "uninspiring finish," this blogger at EcoWorldly notes), in which countries agreed to work to combat climate change together.
Zero concrete objectives, despite promises to the contrary.
Nice that the melting glaciers landed on the agenda, but don't hold your breath for anything more than lip service any time soon on the issue.
Source: AFP
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Melting Glaciers Also Threaten Ancient Peruvian Traditions
Succinct summary, Teresa. I agree that it's good that the EULAC summit acknowledged the glacier crisis in Peru, even if that "big climate policy bang" didn't pan out. China -- now a major trading partner with Peru -- should step up to the plate and commit to a firm policy to reduce emissions. As should the US, of course.
Glacier recession in Peru also is affecting some of the country's very old spiritual traditions centering on the mountains. The foremost religious event on the Andean calendar -- the pilgrimage of Qoyllur Rit'i -- take place every May/June in an isolated valley 17,000 feet above sea level, by the Qolqepunku Glacier, in the southern Andes. People come to the glacier to worship the Lord of the Snow Star, "El Senor de Qoyllur Rit'i," who also is a Christ-like figure. Sadly, the rituals that take place on the glacier were discontinued in 2003 because the glacier is receding so rapidly. See my post "Dancing for a Dying Glacier," http://americaninlima.com/2008/05/24/dancing-for-a-dying-glacier/
Who knows how long this preColombian pilgrimage will last once the ice is gone from Qolqepunku?
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