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High Mountain Melt-Down: Local Perceptions of Global Warming in the Andes and Himalayas

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High Mountain Melt-Down: Local Perceptions of Global Warming in the Andes and Himalayas - Masters Thesis in Water Resources and Coastal Management - High Mountain Melt-Down: Local Perceptions of Global Warming in the Andes and Himalayas By Armando José Lamadrid Spring Semester 2008 University of Bergen Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences 2 Abstract Present scientific knowledge about global warming affirms that ice and snow packs in the high mountains of the world are melting at increasing rates (see IPCC 2007 and UNEP 2007). Melting glaciers and receding snowlines jeopardize seasonal stream and river systems in arid regions of the world and threaten the livelihood of farmers who utilize the meltwater for irrigation. This study contrasts two case studies in the Himalayas of Nepal and the Central Andes of Perú to gauge the impacts of these changes. The perceptions of these agriculturalists are the central focus of the analysis, first to determine the extent and trajectory of changes in the local cryo-hydrological regime, second, to discover the local meanings of such changes, and third, to compare the distinct cultural discourses that emerge from similar geo-physical situations. Villagers from Lumbuk Canyon, in Mustang, Nepal and from the Colca Valley in southern Perú have perceived definite changes in local climatic patterns and a noticeable decrease in mountain snow and ice. The effects of the changes are myriad and colored by local cultural interpretations and myths, as well as by ‘external’, ‘modern’ knowledge. The discourses on the meaning of and necessary responses to cryo-hydrological changes reveal a competition and at times a conflation of local and ‘modern’ ways of seeing. It is important that the discourse of modern development not overwhelm and eclipse local perceptions of this global problem. Only by recovering these narratives can we fully understand the impacts or hope for possible local solutions rooted in traditional knowledge. 3 Table of Contents PART I: INTRODUCTION....................................................................................................... 8 Chapter 1: Water on the Roof of the World............................................................................... 9 1.1 High Mountain Melt-Down: the Himalayan and Andean Dilemmas .............................. 9 1.2 Rationale for the study ................................................................................................... 10 1.2.1 The geo-physical basis for study............................................................................. 10 1.2.2 The social basis for study........................................................................................ 11 1.3 Research Questions ........................................................................................................ 13 1.4 Summary ........................................................................................................................ 15 Chapter 2: Setting..................................................................................................................... 16 2.1 Glaciers and Meltwater Irrigation from Shangri La to El Dorado ................................ 17 2.2 Choice of Study Areas.................................................................................................... 18 2.3 Introduction to Mustang................................................................................................. 19 2.4 Introduction to the Colca Valley .................................................................................... 26 2.5 Irrigation in Drylands..................................................................................................... 32 2.5.1 The Mustang Tungba System.................................................................................. 33 2.5.2 The Colca Anansaya/Urinsaya System................................................................... 34 2.6 Summary ........................................................................................................................ 36 Chapter 3: Theoretical Perspectives......................................................................................... 37 3.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................... 39 3.2 External Reality or Cultural Projection? ........................................................................ 40 3.3 Human Perceptions of the Environment ........................................................................ 43 3.3.1 Phenomenology and Perceptions ............................................................................ 43 3.3.2 Perceptions, habitus and field.................................................................................. 47 3.3.3 Aase’s Modification of Peirce’s semiotic triad....................................................... 48 3.3.4 Cultural Theory Typology: the ‘Myths of Nature’.................................................. 48 3.4 Summary ........................................................................................................................ 54 Chapter 4: Methods and Methodology..................................................................................... 56 4.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................... 57 4.2 Methodology .................................................................................................................. 57 4.2.1 Semiology, Phenomenological Methodology and Discourses................................ 57 4.2.2 Thompson’s Cultural Theory .................................................................................. 60 4.3 Methods.......................................................................................................................... 62 4.3.1 Interviews................................................................................................................ 62 4.3.2 Participant Observation........................................................................................... 66 4.4 Status & Role ................................................................................................................. 67 4.5 Ethical Considerations.................................................................................................... 69 4.6 Comparative Method...................................................................................................... 70 4.7 Summary ........................................................................................................................ 71 PART II: PERCEPTIONS OF CHANGE................................................................................ 72 Chapter 5: Mustangi Perceptions ............................................................................................. 73 4 5.1 How is Change Occurring? ............................................................................................ 74 5.1.1 Climatic Change...................................................................................................... 74 5.1.2 Source Changes: Water as ‘Element’...................................................................... 76 5.1.3 Resource Changes: Irrigation and Drinking Water ................................................. 78 5.2 The Discourses of Change.............................................................................................. 82 5.2.1 Reasons for Change................................................................................................. 84 5.2.2 The Thakali Tricksters: ........................................................................................... 89 5.2.3 Responses to Change............................................................................................... 91 5.3 Summary ........................................................................................................................ 96 Chapter 6: Colqueño Perceptions............................................................................................. 97 6.1 How is Change Occurring? .......................................................................................... 100 6.1.1 Eco-Climatic Change ............................................................................................ 100 6.1.2 Source Changes: Water as ‘Element’.................................................................... 103 6.1.3 Resource Changes: Irrigation and Drinking Water ............................................... 104 6.2 The Discourses of Change............................................................................................ 106 6.2.1 Reasons for Change............................................................................................... 109 6.2.2 Andean Tricksters ................................................................................................. 112 6.2.3 Responses to Change............................................................................................. 114 6.3 Summary ...................................................................................................................... 119 Chapter 7: A Tale of Two Ranges......................................................................................... 121 7.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................. 121 7.2 Symmetries and Asymmetries.....................................................................................
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