Nature-based versus technological
approaches to adaptation to climate
change in the Peruvian Andes
Bruno Locatelli 1,2,3, Martin Laurenceau 3,4, Ronal Cervantes Zavala 5
1 3 4 52
SESSION “PUTTING TRANSFORMATIVE ADAPTATION
INTO ACTION (PSYMP-4)”
OAXACA CITY,
MEXICO
7-10 NOVEMBER
2017

Photo: B. Locatelli

Photo: B. Locatelli
Perú
Abancay
Apurímac

Photo: B. Locatelli

Photo: B. Locatelli

Photo: B. Locatelli and PACC, MINAM, MINAGRI

Time
Resilience to
droughts
Maladaptive
space
Adaptive
space
Now
K
V R
What adaptation options?
What VK (values and knowledge) supporting each option?
What R (rules) driving decision-making?

Photo: B. Locatelli

Photo: B. Locatelli

Photo: B. Locatelli

Photo: B. Locatelli

• Interviews, stakeholder analysis,
analysis of decision process, actor
interactions and networks
• Questionnaire
• Q-methodology
• 72 people
• From communities, civil society, private
sector, government, academia (including
ourselves)
• 43 statements about:
• Knowledge: Causes of water scarcity (5
statements)
• Knowledge and values on water
management options: responsibilities,
outcomes, preferences (22 statements)
• Values and worldviews (general
statements inspired from existing
questionnaires)
• Responses from “Completely Disagree”
to “Completely Agree”
• Principal Component Analysis, Cluster
Analysis

Conflicting sets of values and knowledge
30%
“Environment first”
• Wetlands
• NGOs and Gov
• Dams
28%
“Traditions and communities”
• Dams with
traditional options
and wetland
conservation
• Communities with
gov support
19%
“Dams by the government”
• Gov
• Dams
• NGOs and
communities
23%
“Against economic liberalism”
• Dams
• Water
commodification
• Private benefits
(% of interviewees)

Values and knowledge (“Discourses”)
-1.6
-1.0
0.0
1.0
2.0
3.1
Pearson
residuals:
p-value =
2e-04
Public org
Community
Civil society
Env
Ant
Com
Gov
Civil society
Communities
Governmental
institutions
Institutionsofdiscourse
holders Polarization K
V
V
V
K
K

Photo: B. Locatelli
RK
V
V
V
K
K

• We have compared two simple adaptation options
• There are others, between nature-based and technofix
• Complementarity: wetlands upstream small dams
• Stakeholders with contrasting VK (Values and Knowledge)
• Discourse polarization: Latent power relationships
• Nature-based = more equity, more co-benefits?
Technofix = more water?
• Disagreements among stakeholders (including scientists)
• Rules in place favor some sets of VK
• Top-down decisions in favor of technofix
• Revealed power relationships
Photo: B. Locatelli
Time
Maladaptive
space
Adaptive
space
Now
K
V R
Resilience to droughts

OPERAs project,
European Union
CGIAR-FTAIKI, German Federal Ministry
for the Environment (BMUB)
Norwegian Agency for
Development Cooperation (NORAD)
Funding partners:
Thank you!
bruno.locatelli@cirad.fr