The recharge channels of the Sierra Nevada Range (Spain) and the Peruvian Andes as ancient nature-based solutions for the ecological transition

Nature-Based Solutions for Integrated Water Resources Management (NbS-IWRM) involve natural, or nature-mimicking, processes used to improve water availability in quantity and quality sustainably, reduce the risks of water-related disasters, enhance adaptation to climate change and increase both biod...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Jódar Bermúdez, Jorge, Martos Rosillo, Sergio, Custodio Gimena, Emilio|||0000-0003-4122-8098, Mateos, Lucianos, Cabello Piñar, Javier, Casas Jiménez, José Jesús, Salinas Bonillo, María Jacoba, Martín Civantos, Jose María, González Ramón, Antonio, Zakaluk, Thomas Martin, Herrera Lameli, Christian, Urrutia, Javier, Lambán Jiménez, Luis Javier
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2022
País:España
Institución:Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC)
Repositorio:UPCommons. Portal del coneixement obert de la UPC
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:upcommons.upc.edu:2117/386575
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/2117/386575
https://dx.doi.org/10.3390/w14193130
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Water resources development
Aquifers
Careo
Amuna
Aquifer recharge
Nature based solution
Water resources management
Ecological transition
Recursos hidràulics--Explotació
Aqüífers
Àrees temàtiques de la UPC::Energies::Recursos energètics renovables::Recursos hidràulics
Descripción
Sumario:Nature-Based Solutions for Integrated Water Resources Management (NbS-IWRM) involve natural, or nature-mimicking, processes used to improve water availability in quantity and quality sustainably, reduce the risks of water-related disasters, enhance adaptation to climate change and increase both biodiversity and the social-ecological system’s resilience. United Nations and the European Commission promote their research as a cornerstone in the changeover to the Ecological Transition. In the Sierra Nevada range (Spain) and the Andean Cordillera, there is a paradigmatic and ancestral example of NbS-IWRM known as “careo channels” and “amunas”, respectively. They recharge slope aquifers in mountain areas and consist of an extensive network of channels that infiltrate the runoff water generated during the snow-thawing and rainy season into the upper parts of the slopes. The passage of water through the aquifers in the slope is used to regulate the water resources of the mountain areas and thus ensure the duration of water availability for the downstream local population and generate multiple ecosystem services. This form of water management is known as Water Sowing and Harvesting (WS&H). As shown in this work, it is a living example of a resilience and climate change adaptation tool that can be qualified as a nature-based solution.