Adapting to climate change (Peru)

Adapting to climate change and reducing the risks associated with glacial retreat in the Andes – Peru

The Glacier 513 project was a multi-objective project designed to reduce the risks associated with the retreat of Glacier 513 (Peru), and to optimize water resource management for its entire watershed. Located in the Ancash region of Peru’s Cordillera Blanca, Glacier 513 lies upstream of the Chucchún basin and threatens the city of Carhuaz. In recent decades, its retreat has led to the creation of a glacial lake. In April 2010, a sudden emptying of the lake, triggered by the landslide of part of the glacier, caused major damage in the Chucchún Valley. This high-risk situation is of particular concern to the local population and municipalities in the area of influence. It was against this backdrop that the Glacier 513 project was launched in 2011.

Funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation(SDC), and led by the Department of Geography at the University of Zurich and theinternational NGO CARE Perú, this bi-national project brought together numerous partners, including the Glaciology and Water Resources Unit (UGRH) of the Peruvian National Water Authority (ANA), the Regional Governments of Ancash and Cusco, the local governments and people of Carhuaz and Santa Teresa, as well as the Universities of Santiago Antúnez de Mayolo, san Antonio Abad de Cusco, Agraria La Molina and the Ecole Polytechnique de Lausanne (EPFL).

Glacier 513 and its “laguna”, Ancash, Peru ©crealp 2014

Within this interdisciplinary framework, CREALP provided its expertise in hydraulic and hydrological modeling, as well as technical support for the design and implementation of an Early Warning System (EWS) and the definition of evacuation protocols for the city of Carhuaz. Hydraulic and hydrological modelling of the Chucchún watershed, including urban and agricultural water demands, enabled us to assess water supply requirements and population satisfaction in the short and medium term. Various scenarios were also studied, making it possible to test the effectiveness of certain measures (installation of a regulating valve, rehabilitation of the canal system used for irrigation, etc.) and to estimate the impact that climate change could have on future water resources in the Chucchún basin.

Completed in October 2015, the Glacier 513 project not only highlighted the importance and usefulness of hydrological models for optimizing water resource management, but also led to the opportunity to develop a second project, the Glaciers+ project, which aims to extend this approach to different study basins.

Early warning system for the sudden emptying of Laguna 513, Carhuaz, Peru ©CARE PERU

Information

Contact: Dr Bastien Roquier
Project duration: 2012 – 2015
Customer: Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation(SDC)
Project link: Proyecto Glaciares 513
SDC project link :Studying glacier retreat

Further information

Choquevilca, W., Giraldez, C., Huggel, C., Garcia, J., Fernàndez, F., Frey, H., Haeberli, W., & Price, K. (2013). Sistema de gestión de riesgos ante eventos asociados a glaciares en Santa Teresa (Cusco): Componentes principales y responsabilidades políticas asociadas. 149-154.

Fluixá-Sanmartín, J., García Hernández, J., Drenkhan, F., Huggel, C., Frey, H., & Giráldez, C. (2016). Formaciones en glaciología, hidrología y riesgos naturales en el contexto del Proyecto “Glaciares 513”. 2868-2877.

Fluixá-Sanmartín, J., García Hernández, J., Huggel, C., Frey, H., Cochachin Rapre, A., Gonzales Alfaro, C. A., Román, L. M., & Masías Chacón, P. A. (2018). Highlights and Lessons from the Implementation of an Early Warning System for Glacier Lake Outburst Floods in Carhuaz, Peru. In S. Hostettler, S. Najih Besson, & J.-C. Bolay (Eds.), Technologies for Development (pp. 187-200), Springer International Publishing.

Frey, H., Garcia Hernández, J., Huggel, C., Schneider, D., Rohrer, M., Gonzales Alfaro, C., Muñzo Asmat, R., Price Rios, K., Meza Romàn, L., Cochachin Rapre, A., & Masias Chacon, P. (2014). An Early Warning System for lake outburst floods of the Laguna 513, Cordillera Blanca, Peru. Proceedings of the International Conference on the Analysis and Management of Changing Risks for Natural Hazards.

Giraldez, C., Choquevilca, W., Drenkhan, F., Fernandez, F., Frey, H., García, J., Huggel, C., & Price, K. (2013). “Proyecto Glaciares 513”: An integrated assessment of high mountain hazards and related risk reduction in the Peruvian Andes. 2.

Giráldez, C., Choquevilca, W., Fernández, F., Frey, H., García, J., Haeberli, W., Huggel, C., Ludena, S., Rohrer, M., & Suarez, W. (2013). Large mass movements related to deglaciation effects in southern Peru (Cusco). EGU General Assembly Conference Abstracts, 15, 8183.

Huggel, C., Cochachin, A., Frey, H., García, J., Giráldez, C., Gómez, J., Haeberli, W., Ludeña, S., Portocarrero, C., Price, K., Rohrer, M., Salzmann, N., Schleiss, A., Schneider, D., & Silvestre, E. (2012). Integrated assessment of high mountain hazards, related risk reduction and climate change adaptation strategies in Peruvian Cordilleras. Extended abstracts of international disaster and risk conference, 26-30.

Huggel, C., Cochachin, A., García, J., Giráldez, C., Gómez, J., Haeberli, W., Ludeña, S., Price, K., Rohrer, M., Salzmann, N., Schneider, D., & Silvestre, E. (2012). Towards early warning systems for ice/rock avalanches and glacier lake outburst floods: Pilot experiences in Peru’s Cordillera Blanca. 1.

Huggel, C., Cochachin, A., Drenkhan, F., Fluixá – Sanmartín, J., Frey, H., Garcia Hernandez, J., Jurt, C., Muñoz, R., Price, K., & Vicuña, L. (2020). Early warning system for glacial lake 513 in Peru: A project rich in lessons.

Schneider, D., Cochachin, A., Frey, H., Garcia, J., Giráldez, C., Gómez, J., Haeberli, W., Huggel, C., Ludeña, S., Price, K., Rohrer, M., & Salzmann, N. (2012). Hazard mapping and an early warning system for lake outburst floods in the Cordillera Blanca, Peru. 2.

Schneider, D., Huggel, C., García, J., Ludeña, S., & Cochachin, A. (2013). Modeling and hazard mapping of complex cascading mass movement processes: The case of glacier lake 513, Carhuaz, Peru. 15, EGU2013-13855.

Schneider, D., Huggel, C., Cochachin, A., Guillén, S., & García, J. (2014). Mapping hazards from glacier lake outburst floods based on modelling of process cascades at Lake 513, Carhuaz, Peru. Advances in Geosciences, 35, 145-155.