During the last few weeks of June 2013, thanks to CityLinks, I had the opportunity to conduct a climate change assessment in Arequipa City, Peru to gain a better understanding of how climate change affects the city. We will eventually post the climate change report with our findings from the trip, but for now, I’d like to share my thoughts about what I learned.

After 10 days of interviews and meetings with municipal officials and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Mission in Peru, as well as conversations with taxi drivers and restaurant waiters, I can say that my biggest concern is that the citizens do not seem to be alarmed by the risks associated with global warming. Unfortunately, this seems to be the case in other Latin American countries too.

Most citizens have noticed the extraordinary amount of rainfall in Arequipa, but surprisingly, they do not view this as a concerning issue. They claim that this phenomenon only occurs a few times each year and that this has always been the case.  

Arequipa has drains called "torrenteras" that remain dry most of the year, but due to various circumstances and lack of action, they have been filled with garbage from nearby construction including housing for low-income families, condominiums, and office buildings. Additional drains have been constructed like "highways,” that allow the water to run with greater force and speed, creating more disasters.

Arequipa has much interaction with the higher and the lower parts of the basin of the Chili River, and experiences the effects (mainly drought) that threaten the entire region. The droughts have affected the drinking water supply, electricity production, the tourism industry, and agricultural production.

Although the citizens are aware of the problems listed above, the most important issue deals with the need for regulation of the “torrenteras.” They must be cleaned, use of nearby land should be regulated, and early warning measures for the population of the metropolitan area should be applied to prevent and prepare for the heavy rains that undoubtedly will continue to fall in the following years.