Water is a basic subsistence need for all forms of life, but its supply is limited. Therefore, increasing water conservation efforts worldwide is essential and particularly under the current increasing warming.

Motivated to contribute to freshwater conservation, we wrote a review article on the role of Protected Areas of high-elevation waters in the tropical Andes that is particularly sensitive to climate change. Knowledge on the role of protected areas have been explored broadly for terrestrial ecosystems, but how they protect freshwater ecosystems are limited to global studies, and more regional studies are needed. Our review provides not only a benchmark on what conservation steps could be performed to increase freshwater conservation, but it also provides insights for future research on biodiversity and ecosystem services of freshwater ecosystems in the tropical Andes (Fig.1). Another main contribution are the maps  that depict clearly rivers, lakes, glacial lakes and glaciated watershed and how they are covered by protected areas that belongs to the highest levels of protection of the International Union for Conservation Nature (IUCN) and national systems of protected areas. The maps were performed with global databases of lead institutions such as the Hydrosheds of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), and the Global Land Ice Measurements from Space (GLIMS). Glaciers are considered a terrestrial biome, but after their melting become glacier streams and lakes. Therefore, is essential to consider them as a key freshwater source, especially in mountain zones such as the tropical Andes, where millions of people depend on glacier water for their subsistence (Fig. 2).

Our results call out for increasing efforts of water conservation and more detailed inventories of water sources inside and outside of protected areas to have better designs for their conservation and contribute to climate change adaptation in the region. The review is a useful source for the science community, policymakers and practitioners for conservation science.

Figure 1. High-elevation streams an lakes in the Bolivian Andes. Credits: Estefania Quenta.

Figure 2. Charquini Glacier and glacial lakes in the tropical Andes. Credits Estefania Quenta

The paper ‘Mountain freshwater ecosystems and protected areas in the tropical Andes: Insights and gaps for climate change adaptation, by Quenta-Herrera, E., Crespo-Pérez, V., Mark, B., Gonzales, A., & Kulonen, A. (2022), is freely available as part of the Environmental Conservation Editors’ Choice collection.

About the Author

Dr Quenta-Herrera is a Research Associate at the Instituto de Ecología of the Universidad Mayor de San Andrés based in La Paz, Bolivia.