NewsletterJanuary 2016, 5th edition

Adaptación al cambio climáticopara el desarrollo local

Dear friends of EcoAdapt, in this opportunity, Ecos del Agua newsletter shares information about the process of constructing the Climate Change Adaptation Plan for the Jujuy Model Forest in Argentina.

EcoAdapt Project works to connect science and civil society in three territories of Latin America: the Chiquitano Model Forest (CHMF) in Bolivia, the Jujuy Model Forest (JMF) in Argentina, and the Araucarias del Alto Malleco Model Forest (AAMMF) in Chile. The project seeks for combining local knowledge and generating new knowledge with people living in the Model Forest (MF) territories, in order to construct water management processes that contribute to local development and enable them to develop strategies to adapt to climate change.

In each territory, the project has developed a series of studies and researches that identi�ed di�erent local experiences regarding water security and elements related to this issue. EcoAdapt focused on action-research approach in order to generate linkages between science and civil society. By working together, key knowledge and information has been generated and shared.

This edition shares key information about the process of construction of the adaptation Plan of the Jujuy Model Forest.

Among other topics of interest, we also present the visions and perspectives of project collaborators about the process developed in Jujuy Model Forest. We have the opportunity to know the experience of the farmer José Guevara, a bene�ciary in the area of irrigation e�ciency project. Finally, in our opinion article, Mónica Coll Besa, a researcher at the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI), shares her perspective about how good governance systems contribute to climate change adaptation in Latin America.

We hope you enjoy this information and �nd it useful.

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Editorial

The Editorial Team

EcoAdapt bets on opportunities that multisectoral platforms provide to generate, share and disseminate knowledge about alternatives to address climate change.

With European Union funding, EcoAdapt, climate change adaptation project, began its implementation in 2012, in three Model Forests of Latin America: Araucarias del Alto Malleco in Chile, Chiquitano in Bolivia, and Jujuy in Argentina. Each Model Forest has an the Strategic Plan for Climate Change Adaptation as a result of three years of work and of local researches, exchange among scientists, technicians and key local actors. This issue presents a brief summary of the document constructed for the Jujuy Model Forest.

Planning process for Climate Change Adaptation in Jujuy Model Forest

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Central Topic

Jujuy Model Forest Landscape, Jujuy Model Forest, Association, Argentina

EcoAdapt focuses on a participatory approach. In other words, this initiative searches for a planning for climate change adaptation, suited to the local context and especially focused on water resource management through a bottom up process. Adaptation planning entails sharing and co-generating knowledge with the multiple actors operating at di�erent scales and in di�erent political spheres, in an iterative learning process. For local development, this includes expanding existing networks, linking them with di�erent spatial scales and domains of knowledge.

1. Producing new technical information by studying hydrological, ecological and climatological processes in the territory, to provide accessible data in formats adapted for all types of audiences.

2. Improving understanding of government structures and public institutions in the territories, to clarify authorities’ roles and responsibilities, facilitating local accountability.

3. Developing organization and leadership capacities, strengthening existing networks such as territorial committees and rural water supply committees (APRs) to provide local capacities development.

4. Increasing existing capacity, for the sustainability of initiatives focusing on natural resource management.

The planning process was developed by phases: the understanding phase to grasp the social, political, cultural, economic and ecological dynamics in each project intervention area, and identify the di�erent key local actors for water management and climate change. The planning phase in which local knowledge and generated information empowered actors and involved them in climate change adaptation planning. The management phase to generate energizing, strategic actions to meet local territories’ needs regarding water, climate change and involving and motivating actors who were involved from the beginning.

The project focused on empowering the organizations leading the adaptation process in each territory, regarding four key measures to design and implement the adaptation plan:

3Irrigation e�ciency project, Jujuy Model Forest Association, Argentina

Taking the Model Forest’s political context into account, the Plan was constructed with key actors from local communities, public institutions and the private sector. Studies conducted in the local territory through EcoAdapt identi�ed the main barriers, challenges and entry points for adaptation to climate change. This then contributed to identifying objectives, themes and actions to implement in the territory, which were de�ned on the basis of contextual factors to determine their viability.

The strategic plan hinges on actions to address the main problems identi�ed in the Perico - Manantiales watershed. Speci�cally, EcoAdapt aimed to address inadequate water management and adaptation to climate change, elements which are in turn related with deforestation, erosion, and climate variability.Therefore, water and its di�erent uses lies at the center of these issues: irrigation, water supply for human consumption, and recreational tourism activities.

Current and future water resource availability poses a challenge in a context with several user groups: diverse agricultural and industrial sectors, recreational users of reservoirs, and water supply for inhabitants of the zone.

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Water and related resources, the key to addressing adaptation to climate change in the JMF

In the framework of EcoAdapt project, the Jujuy Model Forest Association (ABMJ), along with project scientists and a range of local actors, worked on the construction of the climate change adaptation JMF. ABMJ will play the role of promoting inter-institutional cooperation and e�ective implementation of the actions raised in the plan.

Irrigation e�ciency project, Jujuy Model Forest Association, Argentina

Objectives:

• Improve water quality: Including the reduction of biological and chemical pollution, and the reduction of sedimentation.• Improve water quantity: Including the improvement of distribution, consumption reduction (waste), and catchment at

water sources improvement.• Reduce risk of flooding: Including increasing of drainage efficiency, increasing of defense structures, and increasing

preparedness.• Improve soil use: Including the soil preservation (erosion, nutrients, and salinization) and improvement of ecosystem

services for agriculture (forests, wildlife).

As a result of participatory work to design the Plan, four potential themes were generated for projects in the territory:

• Dam maintenance and consciousness-raising.• Consciousness-raising campaign on caring for water in canals.• Problem of excessive cultivation of the soil.• Training in using water for irrigation.

Objectives, thematic area and strategic actions for adaptation in the JMF

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THEMATIC AREA ACTIONS

1. Irrigation / water supply and sewerage infrastructure

Increase of dam capacityImprovement of surface water catchment for riversWater supply infrastructure maintenanceExpansion of the water supply network in rural areasBuilding of a rural and urban drainage network

2. Irrigation e�ciency Optimization of irrigation infrastructurePromotion of harvesting of rainwaterManagement of rain and irrigation water drainage on farmsUse and schedule of irrigation system technology

3. Water resource management Exploring for and extracting underground waterProtection of water sourcesImprovement of hydro-meteorological monitoring systemsImprovement of institutional / civil coordination for water management

4. Soil erosion Improvement of livestock handling in the upper river basin and protected areasManagement / protection of forests on watershed hillsidesImprovement of management of cultivated soils

5. Consciousness-raising and training Consciousness-raising for the public and interested partiesIncrease of the capacity for well-informed decision-making

6. Legal framework and local territorial planning

Creation of a local territorial physical planManagement of water from sewersOrganization of quarrying of sand and gravelManagement of urban solid wastesImprovement of the legal system regarding water preservation

Source: BMJ Strategic Plan, 2015

For this reason, this action for adaptation to climate change in the family agriculture sector focuses on the following speci�c aims:

• Improve efficient use of irrigation water.• Improve management of rainwater drainage.• Increase ecosystem services.• Improve farmers’ production conditions.• Improve inter-institutional cooperation.• Disseminate tools and concepts to care for and

manage irrigation water to farmers and institutions working with the rural area of Los Pericos Valley.

• Design of workshops to exchange or replicate experiences developed in Los Pericos Valley and cooperation with new initiatives.

With this action, ABMJ expects to promote e�cient use of irrigation water and improve local irrigation practices, and replicate this to other territories.

To involve and engage stakeholders in the actions pursued by EcoAdapt, a pilot action was designed to implement in the territory, taking into account all the work implemented with local actors. The action call “Demonstration Irrigation Field” is being implemented on a small scale with the expectation of upscaling it in the future.

This initiative is carried out in the El Pongo Farm, belonging to the Provincial Government, an area of 11,951 hectares located in the departments of El Carmen, Palpalá and San Antonio, province of Jujuy (Argentina). The Farm hosts 368 farmers, growing di�erent types of crops: vegetables, �owers, cereals and other grains, tobacco, fruits and forest products. The area where the pilot action will be replicated is in the zone called El Cadillal, 6 km from the town of Perico, an area of 137 hectares, with 33 farmers growing vegetables, �owers and strawberries.

This pilot action will address the di�culties identi�ed by family farmers regarding water scarcity from August to December, the drought period when the demand for water is much higher because of irrigation required for family farming.

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Promoting adaptation to climate change by using water e�ciently for irrigation and family farming

Irrigation e�ciency seeks to develop or improve irrigation systems to optimize water use and irrigation technique timing and e�orts. This makes it possible for women to get involved, providing greater working autonomy and contributing to family cooperation, increasing their productive and organizational capacity.

Irrigation e�c iency project, Jujuy Model Forest Association, Argentina

Unlike many other adaptation projects, EcoAdapt has not focused on investing heavily in climate impact studies, but on building local capacities. It has also encouraged concrete implementation after these studies.

In terms of action by the EcoAdapt project, what are the priority components to consider in a climate change adaptation plan?

Institution building and the setting up of a culture of longer-term planning, while navigating political changes. These elements require innovative training about leadership to cope with complex problems. At CATIE, we are developing international courses combining theory and practice to learn how to mobilize resources and navigate through change. The technical aspects of problems are easier to solve, because the experiences and technologies required often already exist.

In your experience, why is it important to adapt to climate change?

Because there are no alternatives – whether the climate is going to change, or how much, society is increasing its conditions of vulnerability, by mismanaging its territories and ecosystems. It is increasing susceptibility to su�ering damage from climate events (e.g., what the IPCC calls sensitivity) because of the development paths that we are choosing in many places worldwide.

How can EcoAdapt contribute to adaptation in Latin America? And what makes it di�erent from other projects about adaptation?

EcoAdapt has constructed concrete examples of capacity-building to adapt to climate change, considering water as a resource that is highly vulnerable to climate change and fundamental for local livelihoods in most rural areas of Latin America. Having three landscapes, in three di�erent Southern Cone countries, which are historically marginal territories, yields interesting lessons learned for adaptation in Latin America.

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Interview:

Ra�aele Vignola (Ph.D.), Co-coordinator of EcoAdapt project, Director of the Latin American Chair of Environmental Decisions for Global Change (CLADA) at CATIE. His work with EcoAdapt focuses on planning and implementing measures to adapt to water-related impacts caused by climate change and pursuing alternative development.

How EcoAdapt experience contributes to adaptation to

climate change in Latin America?

How has the need for climate change adaptation actions been positioned in communities and di�erent local actors who have participated in EcoAdapt?

Depending on the context, there are territories and communities that have taken ownership of their actions and are implementing them without any outside assistance.

After three years of work, what are the main lessons learned that this initiative has yielded regarding adaptation to climate change?

EcoAdapt lessons learned have shown how contextual factors in a territory at the grassroots can encourage or hinder the necessary adaptation initiatives. We have learned that capacity-building for adaptation in highly centralized countries is highly vulnerable to vertical power linkages with the central government, because these linkages change along with legislatures and the local process is also a�ected. This is a structural problem limiting the region’s capacity, because planning and implementing adaptation measures requires medium- and long-term perspectives and support.

8Irrigation e�ciency project, Jujuy Model Forest Association, Argentina

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Now the plan has been constructed for the Jujuy Model Forest and we will use it to work with the community and with mid-level institutions such as INTA, which has supported the planning continually. We must also take advantage of opportunities that arise with the change in government and the new authorities for 2016.

What is the role of the community and of the institutions involved in water and natural resource issues to apply the adaptation strategies identi�ed in the Plan?

Juan Ernesto Regazzoni: They contribute with “the understanding of the reality”, which, along with the methodological contribution, gives rise to the strategy, actions and technologies to implement.Their main role is to take joint, simultaneous, organic actions addressing the problems prioritized from di�erent angles. They also play a transcendent role in consciousness-raising and in achieving sustainability over time.

Virginia Canedi: The community’s role is vital, because they are the ones who su�er the e�ects of climate change. The community and intermediate stakeholders must assimilate the adaptation strategies, generate experience exchange and share lessons learned about how they cope with climate change.

Project Collaborators

As a constructed participatory plan, what actions were taken to seek contributions and needs of the di�erent local actors? Could other actions have been included?

Juan Ernesto Regazzoni: Various workshops involved the main actors and institutions in the territory. This highlighted needs, problems and perception of others for the future. This also detected

the factors that slowed and accelerated the process.

Other speci�c or thematic workshops prioritized lines of action and the

strategy to be implemented.

Perhaps this could have been complemented by some sort of general public survey taking into account that these participants represented agencies, companies and quali�ed referents.

Virginia Canedi: The project has been ambitious,

working to generate more local trust. This plan was

constructed participatory. This reinforced work with

communities, however decision-makers were strongly

present, and actions followed political issues rather than the forest’s actual needs.

The authorities with whom the plan was constructed will leave their positions because of the 2015 elections, but the implementation of the plan will require continuity for medium- and long-term e�orts.

Jujuy Model Forest Adaptation Plan

We had the opportunity to interview two key stakeholders who collaborated for the process of preparation of the Jujuy Model Forest Adaptation Plan: Virginia Canedi from the Jujuy Model Forest Association technical team (JMFA) and Juan Ernesto Regazzoni from the National Agricultural Technology Institute (INTA).

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What is the greatest contribution that you feel the Plan makes, for the institutions that took part in preparing it and in general for the community?

Juan Ernesto Regazzoni: I feel the Plan makes a methodological contribution, toward a holistic vision of the problem. It also facilitates meetings, discussion and consensus-building to develop and apply validated action strategies that are relevant for the territory.

Virginia Canedi: The main contributions are the �eld research and studies conducted in the territory. The plan itself is the greatest contribution, because it provides a baseline to work with the community as it should be, from a clear starting-point.

We must also take advantage of the expectations of change with the new political actors who will take o�ce in some sectors. The plan has also made it possible to identify the actions required for the territory, which had been under way for years and now we know which are the most suitable.

Another important contribution was to replicate the Plan in the Tourism Directorate, giving them the inputs and the made their own plan.

One of the lessons learned is the information the Plan is based on,

because there are various de�nitions of climate change.

The community prefers to work on events occurring

in their territory, such as water shortage, and the assumed events are not a priority for them.

What commitments do you expect to make concretely with key sectors in the Perico-Manantiales watershed on the basis of this plan?

Juan Ernesto Regazzoni: Once the plan is �nished, there will be the formal discussion or tacit agreements grounded in the value of awareness, commitment and trust that make it possible for the entire community to feel ownership. Any project’s success is maintaining and enhancing its achievements once the project is over.

Virginia Canedi: Building the plan did not generate agreements for implementation, but this was done with the group of farmers at El Pongo Farm. The decision to work with intermediate actors was because planning ran up against political complications.

Dialogue can now be resumed with decision-makers, telling the plan’s story to new leaders, reconstructing and reviewing the plan, taking the community into account more e�ectively.

How has EcoAdapt contributed to position the need for actions to adapt to climate change in the community and key sectors of the Perico Manantiales watershed?

Juan Ernesto Regazzoni: In two areas: one is the exchange in the workshops, forums and mass media. The other is the �eld work for implementation and training in using improved, a�ordable irrigation systems.

Virginia Canedi: Intermediate institutions such as INTA, the Secretariat of Family Farming and internal cooperatives have made the decision to do things on a smaller scale, but have begun raising their consciousness and have seen that the changes they are making in their production techniques, in terms of irrigation e�ciency, are generating changes, and that has enabled an internal exchange of experiences and lessons learned. So, without any need of the central Government, this has advanced from micro to macro.This way of doing things enables processes to continue regardless of who is in authority because the community is empowered to take action.

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First of all, I would like to emphasize how I understand climate change adaptation. This is a socio-cultural and institutional process requiring iterative, �exible adaptive management. It is linked with the customs, values and human behavior of di�erent groups of individuals and institutions who live together in a given territory and their relationships and interaction with the natural environment surrounding them; valuing their more traditional experiences and local knowledge as well as scienti�c knowledge.

On this basis, and with the experience we have in EcoAdapt, the joint work of researchers with civil-society associations such as the Model Forests has improved water governance within a context of changing climate and local development. The Model Forests act as inter-sector social platforms for territorial management in a landscape with a diverse range of land uses and values, in which forest ecosystems are predominant. Discussing forests and climate change through water management and governance as a cross-cutting issue has enabled joint, inter-sector work involving di�erent individuals, institutions and organizations on di�erent scales, from local to international.

Opinion Article

This co-construction of knowledge and experiences with di�erent groups of individuals and di�erent institutions involved in water governance in each context (in Chile, Bolivia and Argentina), has fostered collective learning and provided social validation for the adaptation measures to be implemented. This highly participatory bottom-up process, requiring a major investment of time and e�ort, has made it possible to understand the speci�c issues in each working context (mainly regarding water scarcity and over-use of the resource), which in turn involves a problem on an ecosystem or landscape scale. It has also made it possible to understand and manage the di�erent expectations and interests; to sensitize and educate the public, and to create a shared vision focusing on �nding integrated solutions for adaptation based on local needs and priorities, resulting in a highly �exible process taking di�erent points of view into account. This joint work made it possible from the outset to identify agents of change (or agents who have great in�uence in decision-making) and is helping create alliances with other individuals and/or institutions for adaptation, which operate at di�erent geographical scales, favoring joint, inter-sector collaboration.

How can good governance systems contribute to climate change adaptation in Latin America?

By: Mónica Coll Besa, Research Fellow, SEI Oxford

From my point of view, some of the key elements for governance to succeed, on the basis of EcoAdapt experience, include: forming a promoter group from di�erent groups or sectors of the public who operate on di�erent geographical scales; aligning local collaboration with existing legal frameworks and strategic adaptation plans; horizontal experience sharing in communities and regionally; strategic communication and visibility for adaptation activities, because this is essential to link di�erent scales (local, national, regional, etc.); and training local leaders so that processes are lasting and sustainable over time.

From my point of view, the emphasis for governance to be successful must be placed on �exible, iterative socio-cultural and institutional processes, reviewing medium- and long-term objectives when more information becomes available. The focus must not be the measure or technology to be implemented. This is what makes adaptation to climate change di�erent from a more development-centered approach. However, this process must also be legitimate, with accountability and assigning responsibilities to each individual or institution involved, never forgetting to combine short-,

medium- and long-term interventions so it will be sustainable over time, �nding synergies with other working sectors and resolving con�icts when they arise.

Even so, socio-political instability, clientelism, lack of transparency, corruption, and the unique features of these contexts, are some of the greatest challenges for adaptation to climate change. Therefore, adaptive management is essential in time and space, taking advantage of existing participation mechanisms or creating new ones for dialogue to establish linkages, generate trust and create empowerment with ideas, experiences and actions.

Irrigation e�ciency project, Jujuy Model Forest Association, Argentina 12

Local Figure

His father is also a family farmer in the same zone and property. José Guevara had other jobs many years ago, harvesting crops and selling at market fair, but he decided to be a farmer, with the help of his wife and children.

He told us how he has bene�tted from the work on irrigation e�ciency project with EcoAdapt in his territory:

“I belong to the El Pongo Farm cooperative. We are working with di�erent institutions and we had the opportunity of contacting EcoAdapt through the Jujuy Model Forest Association. We told them what we needed…”

In di�erent meetings with INTA and the cooperative, the idea came up of making community dams, with water gates, to improve the irrigation canal system.

José Guevara, he is 47 years old and he is a family farmer, who

spends most of his time working on his property in the zone of El Cadillal

(El Pongo farm). “We are making the gates now, and they have advised us because we didn’t know how to level the land; we would just make the calculation. The canal is working well, saving us time and water. This system is fundamental, with a steady flow rate, for better, more efficient irrigation. The improved canals and gates will make it more efficient to clean ditches, too. We are grateful for this to the different institutions that work with us. And particularly EcoAdapt, because it enables us now to improve our irrigation system and also to dream about the future, to have a greenhouse, drip irrigation, and even dream that in the future this will be a paradise, which is the way I see it.”

13TraiIrrigation e�ciency project, Jujuy Model Forest Association, Argentina

Organizations working in the EcoAdapt Project:

More information about EcoAdapt: www.ecoadapt.eu

weadapt.org/initiative/ecoadapt

Contact: Grégoire Leclerc (gregoire.leclerc@cirad.fr)Ra�aele Vignola (rvignola@catie.ac.cr)

Editorial Team:EcoAdapt Project Manager: Grégoire Leclerc,

Ra�aele Vignola, Mariela MoralesFFLA Team: Marianela Curi, Patricio Cabrera, Susana

Viteri y Daniela Castillo

Front cover picture: Perico - Manantiales landscape, Jujuy Model Forest Association (ABMJ), Argentina

References: The information written on this newsletter was taken from the Climate Change Adaptation Plan for the Jujuy Model Forest (JMF) prepared for EcoAdapt project (2015) by Raffaele Vignola and Julian Gonzalez, with the

collaboration of the technical team of Jujuy Model Forest and designed by Graciela Giner.

The photographs in this edition come from EcoAdapt project and Model Forest files.