Glaciers: the Politics of Ice
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Glaciers Glaciers The Politics of Ice Jorge Daniel Taillant 1 1 Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the University’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide. Oxford New York Auckland Cape Town Dar es Salaam Hong Kong Karachi Kuala Lumpur Madrid Melbourne Mexico City Nairobi New Delhi Shanghai Taipei Toronto With offices in Argentina Austria Brazil Chile Czech Republic France Greece Guatemala Hungary Italy Japan Poland Portugal Singapore South Korea Switzerland Thailand Turkey Ukraine Vietnam Oxford is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press in the UK and certain other countries. Published in the United States of America by Oxford University Press 198 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016 © Oxford University Press 2015 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of Oxford University Press, or as expressly permitted by law, by license, or under terms agreed with the appropriate reproduction rights organization. Inquiries concerning reproduction outside the scope of the above should be sent to the Rights Department, Oxford University Press, at the address above. You must not circulate this work in any other form and you must impose this same condition on any acquirer. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Taillant, Jorge Daniel, 1968- Glaciers : the politics of ice / Jorge Daniel Taillant. pages cm Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978–0–19–936725–2 (hardback) 1. Glaciers. 2. Glacial erosion. 3. Glaciers—Environmental aspects. 4. Glaciers—Social aspects. I. Title. GB2405.T35 2015 551.31ʹ2—dc23 2014043381 1 3 5 7 9 8 6 4 2 Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper To Romina Picolotti, a friend and partner in life for her inspiration and example, for her environmental stewardship and for her unwavering commitment to create a better and more sustainable world { Contents } Acknowledgments ix How to Read This Book xv Introduction xix 1. Dynamiting Glaciers 1 2. What Is a Glacier? 24 3. The Birth of Cryoactivism 50 4. Invisible Glaciers 88 5. The Barrick Veto 119 6. Life Without Glaciers 151 7. Resurgence 163 8. Amazing Glacier Stuff 204 9. Implementation 230 10. The Human Right … to Glaciers? 298 11. Final Words 315 Appendix: The Argentine National Glacier Act 317 Bibliography 323 About the Author 327 Index 329 { Acknowledgments } Many people have opened my eyes to the fantastic world of glaciers. Thanks to them, I am getting to know these fabulous water towers before they vanish. Perhaps the first thanks that not only I owe, but that many of us owe, is to the people who introduced the idea that we needed glacier protection legis- lation. In Chile, Leopoldo Sanchez Grunert, Rosana Bórquez, Sara Larrain, Rodrigo Polanco, Juan Carlos Urquidi, and Antonio Horvath were the spear- heads of the glacier protection movement, laying out the first proposal ever to come up with a glacier protection law. Thank you! Special mention goes to Marta Maffei, the mother of Argentina’s national glacier protection law, along with her legal advisor Andrea Burucua of ECOSUR. Their contribution to glaciology and to the protection of glaciers around the world has been paramount and will survive for many generations to come. Without their visionary legislative work, we would not be so far along in our societal effort to protect this very crucial and vulnerable natural resource. I’ve interviewed both Marta and Andrea during my research in the preparation of this book. Thank you! I personally am indebted to those who have helped me learn about glaciers and periglacial environments. My inspiring professors have devoted far more than their mere academic and professional responsibilities to the protec- tion and conservation of ice. Cedomir Marangunic (Geoestudios, of Chile), Juan Carlos Leiva (IANIGLA), Benjamín Morales Arnao (Patronato de las Montañas Andinas, Peru), and Bernard Francou (IRD), were my instructors in the first course I ever took on glaciology organized by the United Nation’s Environmental Program (UNEP) in Chile. Cedomir, Juan Carlos, Benjamín, and Bernard have been very patient in answering my innumerable questions on the recognition of glaciers through satellite imagery and on the function and vulnerability of glaciers and geoforms of the periglacial environment. They have donated much of their personal time to long technical conversa- tions and e-mail exchanges concerning my research and publications. Cedo has provided me with unique insights into the world of rock glaciers and has voluntarily contributed his time and energy to our work, coming to confer- ences on his own financing, offering materials, and being always ready to lend a hand. Juan Carlos has inundated me with academic material, research papers, and studies, and his work has been an anchor in evolving discussions on glacier protection in Argentina. Benjamín has provided inspiration from x Acknowledgments Peru, where, after decades of work to avoid glacier tsunamis in the Cordillera Blanca Mountains, he is showing us that we can still do much to protect our glaciers and our communities. He has also invested much energy and work on glacier education. In 2011, Bernard dubbed the sort of work we were doing at the Center for Human Rights and Environment (CEDHA) “cryoactivism.” It was the first time I ever heard that concept, and we adopted it instantly because it summarizes exactly what we do! Over long coffee breaks and din- ner hours during various glacier courses and on our visits to several glaciers in Ecuador and Chile, Bernard has shared his deep and first-hand knowledge of the receding glaciers of the Tropical Andes. Thank you! I am especially indebted to three expert glaciologists whose direct con- tribution to our work has been paramount: Juan Pablo Milana, Alexander Brenning, and Mateo Martini; they are always available to deepen my inqui- ries about the particularities of the cryosphere. They have spent valuable unpaid time reviewing my reports and other materials. Juan Pablo is a con- stant point of reference and source of information. Be it an SMS message, an e-mail, or a phone call, many times monthly, he patiently reviews, criticizes (sometimes too much), and edits much of the cryoactivism I engage on. I have come to respect and admire his career-long contribution to glaciology. Juan Pablo is perhaps one of the most knowledgeable specialists of the perigla- cial environment, having spent the better portion of his career amongst the rock glaciers and frozen grounds of the Central Andes. Alexander Brenning deserves a fair share of gratitude as he was the first brave soul in the academic glacier world to lend a hand, to reach out to nonacademic actors concerned with glacier protection to help them learn, explore, and understand these sen- sitive environments and help guide my (and CEDHA’s) learning process in the task of inventorying glaciers and understanding the impacts caused by mining operations. Alex’s unselfish commitment to his work and to the pro- tection of glaciers has been an inspiration to us all. Mateo Martini, Doctor in Geological Studies of the University of Cordoba, Argentina, has been our unwavering trainer on rock-glacier recognition, not only reviewing all of our inventories but also sitting with the CEDHA team to show us the nuances among periglacial forms. Without him, we would have never been able to gen- erate much of the material that we have produced over the years. Thank you! I must recognize the folks at the IANIGLA, Argentina’s Snow and Glacier Institute, particularly the contribution of Dario Trombotto, one of the world’s most knowledgeable geocryologists and periglacial environment specialists. Dario has patiently answered many questions about the dynamics of rock gla- ciers and permafrost and has openly shared much of his work, publications, pictures, and other materials that have been critical to my work and research. Gabriel Cabrera, Juan Carlos Leiva (again), Lydia Espizua, Ricardo Villalba, and Mariano Castro of the IANIGLA have contributed to my knowledge of glacier areas and periglacial environments in the Central Andes, as well as Acknowledgments xi materials that have been used in this book. Juan Carlos, Gabriel, and Lydia particularly have helped with my research on the impacts to glacier and periglacial environments of the Pascua Lama and Veladero mining projects. Ricardo has been instrumental in understanding the politics and evolution of the glacier law from the viewpoint of the IANIGLA. He also took a strong public stance after the presidential veto of the first glacier law by speaking at numerous public events, which undoubtedly influenced the comeback of the glacier law two years later. Thank you! Thanks goes also to Stephen Gruber of the University of Zurich who shared his permafrost model with us and with whom I’ve maintained several com- munications to discuss the particularities of his global permafrost mapping tool. Thank you! In San Juan, I must thank Silvia Villalonga of the Fundación Ciudadanos Independientes (FuCI), and Diego Seguí, both of whom offered me valuable information on the history of the early stages of legal debates and filings in the courts to protect glaciers. Through our various social networks, we’ve also met many individuals who have helped with the research for our various reports and for this book, offering information, pictures, videos, and other material that we’ve been able to utilize. Gustavo Manrique, Marcelo Scanu, Federico Barberis, Fernando Berdugo, Fredys Espejo, and Rudolf Posch are a few of the contributors of material that is published in this book. Thanks also to Ana Paula Forte who volunteered time to help with our glacier inventories.