Copyright by Jennifer Kristen Lipton 2008 The Dissertation Committee for Jennifer Kristen Lipton Certifies that this is the approved version of the following dissertation: Human Dimensions of Conservation, Land Use, and Climate Change in Huascaran National Park, Peru Committee: Kenneth R. Young, Supervisor Gregory W. Knapp Kelley A. Crews Karl W. Butzer Richard H. Richardson Human Dimensions of Conservation, Land Use, and Climate Change in Huascaran National Park, Peru by Jennifer Kristen Lipton, B.S.; M.A. Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of The University of Texas at Austin in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy The University of Texas at Austin August 2008 Dedication This is dedicated to the following list because of one or all of these characteristics: inspiration, beauty, integrity, patience, and support The mountain landscape, water in all forms, the flora and fauna of the Peruvian Andes The communities, families, and friends that live in and around the Cordillera Blanca My mentors that guided me in the discipline, in the classroom, and in the field Friends that I’ve had all along and friends that I met along the way Loving family that were always by my side Thank you Acknowledgements There is not enough space, and certainly not enough time, to express the amount of gratitude that I have to so many for making this research a reality. Many of the people that deserve this acknowledgement will probably not ever read these pages. And, so it is those individuals that I want to acknowledge first: the inhabitants living within reach of the Cordillera Blanca that sat with me, laughed with me, patiently listened while I spoke in broken Spanish, answered my questions, let me sit in on meetings, taught me about their landscape and lives, taught me how to dance a huayno , and showed me a dynamic landscape that is worth more than all of the gold contained within the hills. This work would not have been possible without the everyday subtle assistance and random acts of kindness that were given graciously by so many individuals in Peru. Access to many places, meetings, and people’s homes were made possible through trusted field assistants that were able to get me to and from, and bridge all of the gaps in between, especially with my Spanish and Quechua abilities: Pablo Tadeo Cilio, Hugo Mejia, Victor Meza, Yuri Shuan, Carlos Alarcón, Manuel Evaristo Sanchez, Mario Villanueva, and Denis Espinal. All of these gentlemen put time and effort in to achieve the end result of this work and so it is as much a part of their research as it is mine. A big v heartfelt thank you for sharing your homes, food, burros, and time with me in order to carry out this work. (The preciosa - GPS - made it safely back to Texas!) This research was made possible through funding by the National Science Foundation, The David Boren Fellowship, The University of Texas at Austin Thematic Fellowship for research on Poverty, Mobility, and Sustainability, and a FLAS grant for Quechua language. I also want to express my sincerest gratitude to the individuals that I came into contact with that work in Peru in NGOs, Government Organizations, and in Academics. The team at The Mountain Institute were invaluable. Offering of workspace, research notes, computers, access to meetings, rides to distant villages were all not part of their responsibilities and yet they gave of them willingly. This cooperation did not go unnoticed. My hope is that someday I will be able to give back something meaningful to the Institute. Specifically, I want to acknowledge the dedication of Jorge Recharte, Alton Byers, and Miriam Torres. Also, the humor and kindness of the rest of the crew fills my heart with joy and reassures me that some relationships are bound to last with Lucho Osconoa, Roberto Arevalo, Karen Price, Nadia Mora and Carlos, Juan Sanchez Duran, and my copadres Vidal Rondán and Mary Chavéz Osorio. And, of course, Mama Cotí, Dora, and the entire family. Thank you for making my evenings and days warmer by sharing food and conversation for hours. A number of other individuals associated with Peruvian organizations, such as INRENA in the Park Office and in the Glaciology Unit, were also indespensible for this research. In the Park office, Lorenzo Champa Verástegui spent hours discussing the origins of Huascaran National Park. Rene Valencia Padilla, Oswaldo Gonzalés de Pas, vi Selwyn Valverde, Martin Poma, Paulino Justiniano, Marlene Rosario Guerrero, and Frida Caballero Bedrinana spent time sifting through maps, air photos, and GPS points to create the database of information. In the INRENA Glaciology Unit hours were spent working on the computers and getting to know the team. Ventures out to check stakes and examine the data recorders were carried out with an amazing group of people that are found in this department: Marco Zapata, Nelson Santillan, Willy Tamayo, Jesus Gomez, and Jose Carrasco. In the realm of NGOs, Gustavo Escobar and Pedro Comacho were gracious providing contacts and field information. Hildegardo Cordova at PUCP assisted me upon arrival in Peru and introduced me to students and facilities in Lima at the University. Likewise, Asuncion Cano and Mary La Torre at the Field Museum showed me around the herbarium and the backroads of the Cordillera Blanca. Of course, these contacts would not have been made had it not been for my mentors from Austin. Above all else, this research and my intellectual growth has ultimately benefited the most from the support and guidance by my committee, particularly from my advisor, Kenneth Young. Ken is supportive, encouraging, patient, intellectually challenging, and an overall excellent mentor. I am fortunate that I had the opportunity to experience his knowledge of Peru in the classroom and while in country, with Blanca León by his side. It was a blessing to have had the opportunities to be with Ken and Blanca and their family in Peru. They both introduced me to Peruvian landscapes in a way that I had not seen them before and I thank them immensely for that. Many of these moments in Peru were accompanied by Kelley Crews, another individual that has played a large part in this research and my intellectual development. Kelley has been an invaluable mentor and vii friend. I owe her a debt of gratitude for introducing me to the enchanting world of pixels and for often reminding me to look on the “fluffy” side of life. I have learned so much about being a Geographer from my committee and from my experiences as a Masters Student at the University of Texas. This was initiated and largely influenced by Greg Knapp and his enduring support, fresh, open ideas, and encouragement. Likewise, Karl Butzer always offered positive encouragement while providing training in thorough and detailed research. Dick Richardson and Pat Richardson were extremely influential for demonstrating that there are other ways of seeing the whole picture, holistically. I am still looking forward to the time when we can all meet in the puna together. I would like to extend my gratitude to all of my colleagues that worked alongside me in the Geography Department and the Digital Lab, Manuel Peralvo and Linda Grijalva, Molly Polk, Brook Kintz, Julio Postigo, Santiago Lopez and Augustine Avwundiogba. Acknowledgements are also extended to Brandie Farris for sharing long discussions in Peru and in the States about our research. I have been fortunate to have met friends in Austin, such as Helen Cortes Burns, Brenda Baletti, and Kisha Wacker, that helped me to laugh, relax, and have fun through the final stages. Lastly, I would like to acknowledge my family: my mother, who is always loving, encouraging, tirelessly editing, and building up my confidence, my Step-father, Kenneth, who has stood beside me, advised me and coached me regardless of what the future may hold, my Grandmother, who kept me going with positive words, guidance and laughter, my father and Margaret who listened, loved, and encouraged, my sister for patiently waiting one more year. And of course, to Stefan and Dillon, thank you for everything. viii Human Dimensions of Conservation, Land Use, and Climate Change in Huascaran National Park, Peru Publication No._____________ Jennifer Kristen Lipton, PhD The University of Texas at Austin, 2008 Supervisor: Kenneth R. Young This research adopts a multi-scale approach to examine the patterns, processes, and perceptions of landscape change within the core and buffer zone of Huascaran National Park, Peru. Within the park’s boundaries are the extensively glaciated Cordillera Blanca Mountains, where runoff from glaciers feeds into lakes, streams, and wetlands to provide hydrologic resources to populations on the periphery for agriculture, as well as hydropower to populations in distant urban areas. Inhabitants living on the periphery have livelihoods that are dependant upon land and natural resources found within the park’s core and buffer zone, while governance institutions mediate access and resource use. Landscape transformations occurring within and around the park are a result of human agency, biophysical change, and global climate change. A suite of qualitative and quantitative methodologies were used to investigate the coupled social and ecological ix dynamics of conservation, land use, and implications of climate change in Huascaran National Park. The principal objectives of this research were to assess the spatial and temporal patterns of landscape change using land-use and land-cover data from remotely sensed imagery and to examine the role of institutions on resource governance at multiple scales. A hybrid classification method was used to classify Landsat (TM and ETM+) satellite data for the years of 1987 and 2001.