Apu Ritipata is part of the Chonta Cordillera,

one of 18 mountain ranges in Peru.

According to a 2020 study,

it’s already lost 95% of its glaciated areas

and the total disappearance of snow in this mountain range

and on Apu Ritipata is imminent.

The consequences are already being felt by the people of Santa Fe

who depend on raising alpacas,

an animal that needs water and high Andean pastures

to survive.

In the Andean highlands,

water depends on the high altitude wetlands,

which function like sponges,

absorbing rainwater from snowmelt or subsoil

to create a unique ecosystem.

With the thawing of Apu,

these wetlands can no longer store

or filter enough water

for either animal or human consumption.

The United Nations

declared that the planet has already passed a global tipping point

in the climate crisis;

droughts, high temperatures and extreme rains

will be a constant,

and the disappearance of snow-capped mountains

is one of the first consequences of this.

We’re here in Pitipata,

Pitipata Rojo (red),

before this neighborhood was in Paras,

the only neighborhood here was Rojo (red),

now everything’s contaminated,

there’s no more water,

all the animals have died.

Before it was all covered with snow here,

the whole range was white,

now it’s not white anymore,

everything’s dry, as you can see everything’s dry,

they don’t say anything,

each one of us has lost between 50 and 60 alpacas,

they died, all bone,

they’re all weak because there’s no water

and no grass.

We’re sad, we live here so what are we going to do?

Santa Fe

is witnessing the death of the snow-capped Ritipata,

its inhabitants don’t know what will happen in the coming years

but the community resists.

Last year,

one could say,

was critical,

there was a severe drought

and the number of alpacas

in the whole alpaca farming region

fell by

20, 30, even 40 per cent, of the equivalent alpaca population

the previous year.

It seems to me that this year we’re seeing

a similar situation to last,

the drought’s going to be strong

this year too.

We’re predicting that we’re likely to lose

about 30% or 40%

of our alpacas, maybe more.

I believe in God,

but previously they believed in the mountains, in what they call Apu,

and they’d make pagapos or offerings,

they drank

and had parties with their neighbors

and they’d take their pachasol to pagapo

believing that would

help ensure blessings

for their cattle

and to ensure water…

but they no longer do that,

because so much has changed, it’s forbidden

now that the evangelical religion has arrived,

it’s deemed Satanic, everything’s changed

and all our customs have been forgotten,

they don’t even value the mountains anymore,

they don’t value Pachamama,

they don’t value her anymore,

they’re selling out.

The pagapo

is a way of giving thanks for your situation.

If someone gives me water,

provides me with food and a place to live,

I have to be thankful.

In recent years

the tradition of pagapo,

of giving thanks to Pachamama,

or to Ritipata, or to Yaku Raymi,

has undergone a transformation, there’s a different dynamic.

There are many people who still believe, who say

I have to thank my Pachamama,

I have to thank her because she provides me with water,

she provides me with the soil,

she provides me with food

for my animals

and I have to give her thanks for that.

There are many people who still believe,

but it’s changing because religion

is having a strong impact on the community

and there are many people

beginning to forget, saying that

there’s another way of seeing, that this isn’t my God,

that my God is religion.

In 2022, the southern highlands of Peru

faced their worst drought in 58 years,

with the alpaca farmers of the high Andes

being worst affected.

This has also had social consequences,

young people no longer want to live at the foot of Ritipata.

Why did your children leave?

I mean,

they don’t want to live at high altitude,

they tell me, “Mom, I’m not going to raise alpacas,

I just want to work…”

so my children

look at me like…

sometimes beautiful alpacas die,

and I cry, and so on, and so on.

My children no longer want to live here,

so they go to other places, they work, eat,

buy land, live,

sometimes there are no young people around, it’s just the older people

that live here.

We’re currently

in the Apacheta River basin.

We’re at an altitude of 4152m above sea level.

This basin is fed by water

from the snow-capped mountains

that are more than 5,000 meters

above sea level.

We also have all these pools

and springs in this valley,

all these bodies of water,

flowing water,

and here is where water is stored.

We have a reserve in the lake that we always

maintain, we always leave a backup reserve

for the community’s use,

but if the droughts continue,

that is, if next year’s

El Niño phenomenon arrives as predicted,

then it could affect the population

and we may not be able to supply Huamanga.

The disappearance of Apu Ritipata

will be hugely significant to its more than 280,000 inhabitants.

All water collection from Apacheta

onwards is for supplying the city of Huamanga.

What’s being done to supply drinking water

to the high Andean areas?

Basically nothing much has been done.

We need an agrarian policy

that takes that into account, but it seems that’s not happening.