When the river roars, time to move - but where?
Rural and indigenous communities have always lived with environmental variability. Today, traditional strategies to cope with environmental change may offer a foundation for efforts to adapt to global climate change. In some cases, however, these time-tested approaches may be compromised by new and external constraints.
The Shipibo are an indigenous people of the Peruvian Amazon (South America) whose traditional territories are the alluvial plains of the Ucayali River. While fishing is the mainstay of their livelihood, slash and burn agriculture and gardening provide important complementary resources. Their villages are built on stilts on the banks of the rivers and lakes of the floodplains, benefiting in this way from a wealth of aquatic resources and soils fertilized by seasonal flooding. In response to the dynamics of the Ucayali River, whose channel is continuously shifting, the Shipibo have chosen to be mobile. They move to new locations when the shifting course of the river floods their gardens, making it impossible for crops to grow, and when erosion of the river banks is so severe that it threatens their houses. They prepare themselves for this eventuality by prospecting for future village sites. Important characteristics include the presence of high ground where their houses are less susceptible to flooding, and the proximity of good fishing areas, such as channels connecting lakes to the Ucayali River. To facilitate mobility, the Shipibo build their houses from lightweight materials, for example, roofs of woven from the leaves of the kantsin palm (Scheelea brachyclada) and posts and beams of light wood. The house design allows it to be easily dismantled and re-assembled. Several indicators are used by the Shipibo to forewarn of an impending flood. The waters become dark in colour and the river transports an increasing volume of vegetative debris. The Shipibo also recognise that a deep roaring of the river waters may signal the imminent arrival of a devastating flood, which may rapidly erode shorelines and threaten the village.
These traditional strategies that the Shipibo use to prepare for and respond to local environmental change may also help them face the challenges of climate change. According to the Shipibo, the rainy season has become longer and more intensive. This may lead to increased river flow, accelerated erosion and a more rapid displacement of the river channel. Increased mobility represents one possible response.
Today, however, suitable and unoccupied village sites are increasingly rare. New actors who have invaded the territory are competing for land and resources. Large areas are being converted to intensive agriculture to provide food for local and national markets. Other parts of the Shipibo territory are lost to State concessions for logging, or oil and gas exploitation. As a result, the traditional adaptation strategy of the Shipibo, their capacity to move village locations in response to environmental change, is now severely constrained. Options to respond and adapt to climate change are diminished. Indeed, in response to a wide range of environmental and social changes, more and more Shipibo are leaving their traditional homelands and moving to cities such as Pucallpa or even Lima, where many remain marginalized.
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From interviews with members of the Shipibo community of Panaillo conducted by Claudia Benavides, UNESCO consultant.
