Media
On thin ice: the farmers adapting to Peru's melting glacier
- April 15, 2015
Source: The Guardian
Drip by drip the Pastoruri glacier is melting before the eyes of the decreasing number of tourists who visit it. Water runs down the ice wall which, if you listen closely, you can hear creak as it gradually disappears. Local farmers are working to tailor the existing highland wetlands – which act like slow release sponges for glacial meltwater – to combat the deteriorating quality of the water as well as storing it. With technical help from the Mountain Institute and the local Universidad Nacional Santiago Antúnez de Mayolo (UNASAM), the farmers are planting certain species in specific areas and monitoring the results.