Abstract

IDENTIFICATION OF THE CAUSES OF THE REDUCTION OF WATER AVAILABILITY IN THE COMMUNITIES OF THE CAÑIPÍA BASIN, ESPINAR, CUSCO.

The objective of this research is to determine the causes of the reduction of water availability in the Cañipia river basin through the analysis of human activities in ecosystem services under a context of climate change. The article is descriptive in nature, therefore an exhaustive bibliographic review was carried out to identify the causes of the reduction in water availability in the communities of the Cañipia basin. The possible causes associated with the problem were identified, with mining being the main one mentioned by the authors, where it is attributed to the extraction of surface water, as well as the pumping and acid drainage of mines; In addition to climate change, manifested in the trends of reduction and variability of rainfall that accentuates the problem, added to the increase in temperatures that would cause the reduction of water reserves. On the other hand, economic activities; such as land use, agriculture and grazing, affect the normal functioning of the water regulation service of ecosystems due to the alteration of their hydrological characteristics and the collapse of their fragile structure, in a context in which the development of water infrastructure has not been the best option to face the problem, where decisions regarding water are not taken jointly with the population. Although reduction in the availability of water is associated with various factors such as those already mentioned, there could also be a population perception factor which maintains that population distrust influences consumption patterns. In this sense, it is necessary to develop more specific scientific studies, in order to elucidate the true causes of the reduction in latent water availability in Cañipia.