Local perceptions of climate change in the context of socioeconomic and political changes in a High Andean community from the Argentine Puna

Abstract

Climate change, along with socioeconomic and political transitions, is driving changes that impact the lives of Indigenous Peoples and local communities worldwide, as is the case of the Kolla-Atacameños People and local communities in the Argentine Puna. Based on 23 semi-structured interviews, three focus group discussion, and 78 individual surveys, this chapter studied people’s perceptions of changes in their local environment, livelihoods, and living conditions, and the drivers of such local changes. The results show that new technologies and improvements in the transport sector are perceived as the most important drivers of local changes. In contrast, mining and climate change are considered less important. Importantly, changes in technology and transport are mostly associated with positive impacts (e.g., easier communication), while climate change is mostly considered a driver of negative impacts (e.g., reduced water availability). Mining and migration are considered drivers of ambiguous changes that have both positive (e.g., higher employment rate) and negative (e.g., environmental degradation) impacts. The results of this study are relevant to better understanding how global changes manifest locally and highlight the importance of effectively integrating Indigenous and local knowledge, perspectives, and priorities into research and policy agendas.