You Can't Grow Potatoes in the Sky: Building Resilience in the Face of Climate Change in the Potato Park of Cuzco, Peru

Abstract

AbstractAlthough Quechua farmers contribute little to climate change, they are disproportionately experiencing the impacts of rapid changes in the high‐altitude environment of the Andes. We describe how Quechua farmers and Association ANDES, a local non‐profit organization, are rising to the challenge in Peru, using traditional knowledge and science in community‐led research to mitigate and adapt to the impacts of climate change. A globally important food crop, the potato (Solanum sp.) originated in the central Andean Mountains. Indigenous farmers collectively manage the Potato Park as a Biocultural Heritage Territory, and together with ANDES, are implementing the Pluriversity for Biocultural Landscapes and Resilient Food Systems to facilitate knowledge exchange and creative solution seeking for complex global problems such as climate change. We describe programs that support community resilience, local biocultural heritage, biocultural products and services, and global policy processes strengthening the rights of Pacha Mama (Mother Earth) and world indigenous peoples.