Local Perception of Drought Impacts in a Changing Climate: The Mega-Drought in Central Chile
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
- (1)
- Sites affected by the Mega-drought.
- (2)
- Sites presenting vulnerability to drought and agriculture as one of their primary activities (based on the amount of land used for agricultural activities and the relative employment generated by this sector).
- (3)
- Sites differing geographically and socioeconomically, and representing rural and urban settings.
- (4)
- Access for conducting interviews.
3. Results
3.1. Drought History, According to the Locals
“Well, I’m not that old but I can tell you that during the last seven years we have been in a constant and progressive drought.”(Interviewee from private sector, San Felipe)
3.2. The Blame Game: What Caused the Mega-Drought?
“Yes, another thing is that in our area, all crops are irrigated with water from the Penco River, … but in that river there are some businessmen, upstream from us, who have water harvesting systems, … and they have stolen from us for years—in fact, they have been reported to the DGA—General Water Authority—, but they just pay the fine; they pay and keep stealing water.”(Interviewee from civil society, Paine)
3.3. Impacts
3.3.1. Environmental Impacts
“You can tell, because the Valley used to just be green and now almost half is dry. Everything is yellow—you can tell right away.”(Interviewee from civil society, Santa María)
“Well, I remember when I was a child, it was great, well, great and boring, because [it rained] then, fifteen days, day and night, and we had to lock ourselves in, and stay inside.”(Interviewee from private sector, Paine)
“… The Copín Lagoon, 2450 meters high, which was a fantastic place about one kilometre long by 600 meters wide, [nowadays] is practically dry.”(Interviewee from private sector, Santa María)
“The thorns are the toughest, they are more rustic one might say. [Now] they are dry...”(Interviewee from government (government personnel), Los Andes)
3.3.2. Impacts on Water Management
“Small farmers and land owners, and especially those at the end of the irrigation canals [are the most affected], because that is where [water] is delayed and you have to take turns to use the canal …; there are people who get water only once every 15 or 30 days …”(Interviewee from civil society, Los Andes)
“… [drought] is affecting drinking water in San Felipe. San Felipe uses deep wells, and there are wells in Tocornal. There is one well that is being deepened, but it has been deepened for two months and they still can’t find a stable water level. San Felipe is in a critical situation regarding drinking water.”(Interviewee from government (government personnel), San Felipe)
“And in the case of drinking water, we try to restrict overuse by fining the people who use more water than average.”(Interviewee from civil society, Paine)
3.3.3. Impacts on Productive Sectors
“From an agricultural point of view, at the farm where I work we have had to let more than 100 hectares go dry because there is not enough water.”(Interviewee from private sector, San Felipe)
“It affects all of us, many people who used to live on crops [from small farms] and did not have the production because of the lack of water, they have had to look for jobs in other places, … they left their families, they went to work to the north, to the mining ….”(Interviewee from private sector, Santa María)
“… in fact, Portillo [a ski centre] wanted to open for the ski season on July 4th and they had to do it with … artificial snow made with water from the Inca Lagoon; this it is not a good option because it [the artificial snow] only lasts a day!”(Interviewee from government (government personnel), Los Andes)
3.3.4. Socio-Economic Impacts
“Now I go to visit and I find that plants do not even have pests or diseases or any problem, and that is because they do not have water; then I fall short of technical recommendations because I have to tell them ‘Decrease your irrigated land because there is no water’ …. What recommendation can I give if the problem is that they don’t have water?”(Interviewee from government (government personnel), Rinconada de Los Andes)
“… in my personal life and in the community [the drought] is reflected mainly in the cost of vegetables.”(Interviewee from civil society, Los Andes)
“Of course that quality of life is lost, because, as I told you, back in the day we used to swim in that spring; we had a great time when we were kids.”(Interviewee from private sector, Paine)
“… and in the quality of life, because … our ancestors bought [this land] with the idea that the family would have a different life, a healthy life, a natural environment, and [all that] is dying because of water scarcity …; it has affected the family life and the economic life.”(Interviewee from private sector, La Pintana)
4. Discussion
4.1. History
4.2. Causes
4.3. Impacts
5. Conclusions
Supplementary Materials
Acknowledgments
Author Contributions
Conflicts of Interest
References
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County | Total Inhabitants | % of Urban Population | % of Land Used for Agroforestry | Main Sources of Employment (% of Working Force) |
---|---|---|---|---|
La Pintana | 213.702 | 100.0 | 42.3 | Construction (22.2) |
Public administration (11.8) | ||||
Transport, storage and communications (11.7) | ||||
Paine | 68.101 | 92.0 | 73.1 | Commerce (25.4) |
Agroforestry (23.2) | ||||
Transport, storage and communications (10.4) | ||||
Los Andes | 68.401 | 63.2 | 60.0 | Commerce (20.5) |
Construction (15.0) | ||||
Real estate (13.7) | ||||
Rinconada de Los Andes | 10.703 | 85.6 | 82.5 | Hotels and Restaurants (60.0) |
Agroforestry (15.2) | ||||
Commerce (6.8) | ||||
San Felipe | 74.337 | 30.1 | 77.5 | Agroforestry (29.0) |
Commerce (12.9) | ||||
Non-metallic mining (11.9) | ||||
Santa María | 15.836 | 63.4 | 96 | Agroforestry (53.2) |
Commerce (24.2) | ||||
Public administration (8.0) |
Actor Type 1 | Age Range | Gender | Urban or Rural | County 2 | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
CS | GO | PS | 25–35 | 35–45 | 45–55 | +55 | M | F | U | R | LP | P | LA | R | SF | SM | |
Number of interviewees | 10 | 16 | 29 | 5 | 18 | 18 | 14 | 41 | 14 | 27 | 28 | 5 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 8 |
Category | Sub-Category | Frequency 1 | |
---|---|---|---|
History | Intensification | Increase | 52 |
No answer | 3 | ||
Onset 2 | 2012 | 1 | |
2011 | 2 | ||
2009–2010 | 10 | ||
2007–2008 | 12 | ||
2005–2006 | 3 | ||
Previous to 2004 | 6 | ||
Does not set a year | 21 | ||
Causes 3 | Human activities/Demand | 16 | |
Climate change | 7 | ||
Natural drought cycle | 5 | ||
Other origins | 4 | ||
Impacts | Environmental | 48 | |
On productive sectors | 38 | ||
On water management | 27 | ||
Socio-economic | 19 |
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Aldunce, P.; Araya, D.; Sapiain, R.; Ramos, I.; Lillo, G.; Urquiza, A.; Garreaud, R. Local Perception of Drought Impacts in a Changing Climate: The Mega-Drought in Central Chile. Sustainability 2017, 9, 2053. https://doi.org/10.3390/su9112053
Aldunce P, Araya D, Sapiain R, Ramos I, Lillo G, Urquiza A, Garreaud R. Local Perception of Drought Impacts in a Changing Climate: The Mega-Drought in Central Chile. Sustainability. 2017; 9(11):2053. https://doi.org/10.3390/su9112053
Chicago/Turabian StyleAldunce, Paulina, Dámare Araya, Rodolfo Sapiain, Issa Ramos, Gloria Lillo, Anahí Urquiza, and René Garreaud. 2017. "Local Perception of Drought Impacts in a Changing Climate: The Mega-Drought in Central Chile" Sustainability 9, no. 11: 2053. https://doi.org/10.3390/su9112053
APA StyleAldunce, P., Araya, D., Sapiain, R., Ramos, I., Lillo, G., Urquiza, A., & Garreaud, R. (2017). Local Perception of Drought Impacts in a Changing Climate: The Mega-Drought in Central Chile. Sustainability, 9(11), 2053. https://doi.org/10.3390/su9112053