Adapting to Shrinking Andean Glaciers. Science, Policy and Society Power Games

ELMA MONTAÑA

The Impact of Glacier Retreat in the Andes: International Multidisciplinary Network for Adaptation Strategies. on climate change adaptation practices, national policies, research needs and education

UNESCO,

Lugar: Paris; Año: 2015; p. 45 - 60

This is an invitation to policy makers, scientists and funding agencies to rethink their view of the science-policy interface in favor of glaciers protection. The risks being faced by glaciers identified, the paper presents some of the ecosystem services they provide as arguments for their conservation. It examines diverse approaches to glacier protection, drawing lesson from cases in different American countries. The analysis shows that, when informing policy making, scientists became part of turbulent social processes marked by power struggles involving different actors, each one favoring their own interests. From this perspective, an effective science-policy interface requires a broader conception of research uptake that goes beyond providing relevant knowledge, calling for renewed roles for scientists, policy makers and science funding agencies.This background paper was developed in the framework of the project "Managing Water Resources in Arid and Semi Arid Regions of Latin America and Caribbean" (MWAR-LAC), executed by the International Hydrological Programme of UNESCO (IHP) and supported through the Flanders UNESCO Science Trust Fund (FUST).