📋 Tender Overview
By Ivonne Montes, scientific researcher at IGPMore than 50 % of Peruvians live on the coast. This region, rich in biodiversity and ecosystem services, houses wetlands, bays, estuaries and other natural environments that provide us with food, water, climate regulation and economic opportunities. However, its fragility is increasingly alarming. What is happening?
The marine-coastal ecosystems are being pressured by our own actions. Disorderly urbanization, pollution by unrelated waste, the presence of heavy and microplastic metals, disassembly and overexploitation of resources have generated an irrational human impact for decades. To this are added the effects of climate change: the increase in sea level, the heating of the ocean, the intensification of storms, the droughts and the marine deoxygenation.
Unfortunately, there are great gaps in the knowledge of marine-coastal ecosystems. It is not fully understood how they respond to multiple stress factors, or their ability to adapt, resilience or restoration. Therefore, it is worth asking: how could effective decisions be made if you do not know how they work or what deteriorates them more quickly?
This problem can be addressed with adequate scientific knowledge. The Geophysical Institute of Peru (IGP) has initiated the investigation of the physical, chemical, biological and socio-economic processes of the marine-coastal ecosystems. The purpose is to identify its role in adaptation and resilience to climate change, for the well -being of populations in their area of influence.
The lack of information represents a not only environmental risk, but also social and economic. The degradation of our ecosystems puts in check the fulfillment of several sustainable development objectives, such as underwater life (SDG 14), Terrestrial ecosystems (SDGs 15), and others equally fundamental such as zero hunger (SDG 2), Good health and well -being (SDG 3), Sustainable cities and communities (SDG 11) and Action by the climate
It is required to change the course, and the IGP initiative points to it. It is urgent to invest in interdisciplinary research that combines knowledge of different disciplines along with the traditional and ancestral knowledge of the communities that inhabit our coasts.
The sea and the coast are not just landscapes or resources: they are living systems that support our well -being. Defending them is not an option, it is a responsibility. IGP: <<Science to protect us, science to advance>>.
Opinion column published in Diario Correo Arequipa
