Perceptions of climate change and its impacts: a comparison between farmers and institutions in the Amazonas Region of Peru

Peru is considered among the 20 most vulnerable countries to climate change and its effects are already being felt in many areas. Through a case study in the Inter Andean sector of the Region of Amazonas, the study aims at exploring the perceptions and interpretations of climate change and its impacts from two different perspectives: regional institutions and smallholder farmers. The novelty of this study lies in examining simultaneously different levels of society and comparing two sets of views. In addition, it focuses on the inter Andean sector of Peru in the Region of Amazonas, an area that is relatively underexplored in the scientific literature. Data collection involved 13 semi-structured interviews at the institutional level, 23 semi-structured interviews in two selected rural communities and 2 participatory workshops deploying Participatory Rural Appraisal tools. The most commonly reported indicators of change include higher temperatures, shifts in the rainy season and more frequent extreme weather events. As a consequence of these changes, reduced crop yield, greater incidence of coffee rust, increased difficulties with the organization of the agricultural calendar and new diseases for animals and humans were mentioned. Compared to institutions, farmers provided a more accurate description of how climate change affects the local livelihood system. Institutions highlighted the problem of limited availability of historical climatic data and scientific studies related to the Region. In this context, local knowledge and bottom-up perspectives can play an important role to inform policies and plans to address climate change at the local scale.