Sowing and Harvesting Water

Background

In the Peruvian Andean highlands, water is becoming an increasingly scarce and unreliable resource for many families. Climate change is altering the rainy seasons, prolonging dry spells and, at the same time, leading to increasingly intense rainfall. This is making it increasingly difficult for smallholder farming households, who rely on agriculture and livestock farming for their livelihoods, to secure their means of subsistence.

In the Challhuahuacho spring and catchment area, this situation is further exacerbated by the ongoing degradation of the landscape. Deforestation, overgrazing and unsuitable farming practices have caused soils to lose their ability to absorb and store rainwater. Instead of slowly seeping into the ground, water runs off the surface and is no longer available in sufficient quantities during dry seasons.

The consequences are directly felt by the local population. Springs occasionally carry significantly less water, jeopardising the secure supply for households, livestock and agriculture, whilst water quality is also deteriorating. Sediment, sewage, agrochemicals and animal excrement are polluting streams and spring areas, further exacerbating an already precarious situation.

Furthermore, many communities are remote and have only limited access to knowledge, resources and functioning structures for sustainable water management. Local organisations and water committees have often lacked sufficient means to protect water resources effectively and collectively. The project addresses these environmental, social and economic challenges, focusing on areas where water scarcity and a lack of protective measures pose a particularly serious threat to the future of the communities.

Local partner organisation

Caritas Abancay has been working in the field of sustainable development cooperation for over 60 years, with projects focusing on environmental protection, food security, health and agriculture. Its work is based on a participatory model that takes local culture into account.

Project location

The project is being implemented in the district of Curahuasi in the province of Abancay, in the southern Peruvian region of Apurímac. It covers 15 rural communities in the Challhuahuacho headwaters and catchment area, as well as parts of the urban population of Curahuasi, who obtain their drinking and domestic water from this area. The communities are scattered across the highlands of the Andes and have only limited connections to urban centres. Many families make a living from small-scale farming and livestock rearing and are particularly dependent on reliable water sources.

Project objective

By protecting sensitive spring and infiltration areas, restoring the landscape and promoting a more responsible use of land and water, the living conditions of the communities will be sustainably stabilised and their resilience to climate change strengthened.

Project activities

· Establishment of six protected areas covering a total area of around 700 hectares to safeguard key catchment areas that are vital for groundwater recharge.

· Implementation of traditional water storage and infiltration measures across a total of 86 hectares, including infiltration ditches, small retention basins and other near-natural structures.

· Expansion and operation of a tree nursery to produce around 180,000 seedlings, as well as the afforestation and revegetation of a total of 202 hectares with site-appropriate trees, shrubs and Andean grasses.

· Training and support for 614 smallholder families in the adoption of regenerative agriculture and more efficient water use.

· Strengthening local water governance through the establishment of a regional platform, the development of management plans for protected areas, and the training of 80 local decision-makers in the field of water management.

· Raising awareness and imparting knowledge in communities and schools, including through the training of 80 pupils as water ambassadors and through public information and exchange initiatives.

Project beneficiaries

The project directly benefits 15,094 people. These include families in 15 rural communities as well as parts of the urban population of Curahuasi. In addition, information and awareness-raising measures will indirectly reach a further 5,000 to 10,000 people, including local authorities, schools, water committees and other stakeholders.