The Rímac River is one of the most important rivers in Peru, not because of its size or its flow, but it supplies water to approximately 30 per cent of the population, namely to over nine million Peruvians in the city of Lima. In addition to water for consumption, the river provides water for agriculture, industry, energy and recreation. However, the basin is particularly vulnerable due to environmental degradation and effects of climate change. The city of Lima is also at risk of suffering from water stress in the near future, so there is an urgent need for collective and organised action by the public sector and civil society through communities, businesses, social organisations and international cooperation.
In view of this, Switzerland, through the SDC Regional Hub in Lima, is promoting three initiatives applying an integrated and thematic-territorial approach. The projects promote integrated actions for climate change, disaster risk management and water. ENANDES-BRAVA is being implemented in six Andean countries (Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru); Anticipatory Action in the Andes is being implemented in Peru, Bolivia and (to a limited extent) Ecuador, and the new project Water Unites Us, to be implemented in Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru. These projects encourage coordinated action between the various public and local stakeholders, where the Rímac river basin serves as a meeting point.
A partnership for water, climate services and disaster risk management. For SDC, water is a vital resource, which is why for half a century it has been working on water management, protection, conservation, governance and corporate management as an instrument of peace. Water Unites Us will work to strengthen public policies and multi-stakeholder partnerships to promote the leadership of a systemic change towards production, responsible consumption and increasing society’s appreciation of water.
The ENANDES – BRAVA project works on the provision of hydro-climatic services, promoting resilience and the adaptation to climate variability necessary for achieving sustainable development. Switzerland’s contribution to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), in close coordination with the Peruvian Meteorological Service (SENAMHI), is key to producing, communicating and evaluating climate services for weather, water and climate as a driver for specific decision-making, and for formulating action for adaptation to climate change, and hence increasing the resilience of the population and socio-ecological systems.
It is also strategic to strengthen risk governance and better prepare the population. The Anticipatory Action in the Andes Project gives priority to Early Warning Systems (EWS) that will strengthen communities’ resilience to hydrometeorological risks. The project uses forecasts to activate specific anticipatory actions in the face of a crisis or before the initial impact intensifies, thereby reducing (avoiding) the losses of lives, property and livelihoods.
The visit of Christian Frutiger, Deputy Director of SDC, in the third week of June, provided an opportunity for a delegation headed by Paul Garnier, Swiss Ambassador to Peru, and members of SDC’s technical team, to visit the the Rímac River basin. The delegation was accompanied by Guillermo Baigorria, Executive President of SENAMHI and Miguel Yamasaki, Director of Preparedness of INDECI; key government actors and strategic partners; local government officials, and SDC’s main implementing partners in the Rímac (Practical Action, the Red Cross Climate Centre, Care Peru and SABAVIDA).
Although it was an intense day, the delegation had the chance to visit the different project sites and there was time for the specialists, local stakeholders and partner agencies to exchange and share experiences. SDC would like to thank them for their active participation: Care Peru and its team, through its national director, Marilú Martens; Herberth Pacheco from SABAVIDA; implementing partners of the Water Unites Us initiative; the Practical Action team through its regional director Alicia Quezada; and the Red Cross Climate Centre team, who support the Anticipatory Action in the Andes (AA-Andes) project.
At the end of the meeting, Christian Frutiger emphasized that «We can only face the challenges in the Rímac River basin together, all of us, the local, regional and national communities, the private sector, NGOs, science and local stakeholders. We shall take the results we get from these projects and share them in other parts of the region and other parts in the world. This is quite ambitious, but we can do it».
Useful links:
FS Water Unites Us Project (spanish)
FS ENANDES-BRAVA Project (spanish)
FS Anticipatory Action in the Andes Project
