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Ken Takahashi, scientific researcher at the IGPPublic policy should be based on the best available information; that is, the one that has its origin in scientific knowledge about the processes followed by the different natural phenomena that affect society. However, having this information within reach is not easy and the IGP is looking for a way to bring us closer, on the front line, to decision makers.
A recent study on the barriers that do not facilitate the use of scientific evidence in decision-making highlights the need to institutionalize such use, through legal frameworks, sustained resources and organizational structures, as well as ensuring dialogue between science and politics.
In Peru, this challenge is being addressed through the Observatory of Scientific Knowledge on Climate Change of Peru, an initiative led by the Geophysical Institute of Peru (IGP) with support from the Ministry of the Environment and formalized in the National Strategy against Climate Change to 2050.
This initiative, also known as Climate Science, advises regional governments so that their management instruments, particularly the Regional Climate Change Strategies (ERCC), have research results as support, particularly those published in indexed scientific journals.
Currently, the IGP, through Climate Science, has been advising the regional governments of Ayacucho, Cajamarca, Huancavelica, Junin, Piura, Puno and Tacna in updating their ERCC, as well as the Municipality of Satipo in its Local Climate Change Plan. To date, the ERCCs of Tacna, Junin and Puno have already been completed, each with the citation of almost 70 scientific investigations, as well as the Satipo Plan with almost 30. In addition, advice has been given for the development of other regional instruments, such as the Regional Biological Diversity Strategy and the Regional Action Plan to Fight Desertification, Land Degradation and Droughts of Tacna.
This work has only been possible thanks to the participation of students, teachers and researchers, who have critically interpreted the results of scientific research, summarizing them in an accessible format, in Spanish and useful for decision making. These interpreters typically come from Peruvian universities, especially from the regions that are advised, which allows for greater capacity and specialized knowledge on the topics and problems relevant to each region than what could be achieved only with IGP researchers. At this time, Climate Science is beginning to support the updating of the ERCCs of Ayacucho and Cajamarca, so universities in these regions are invited, above all, to join this effort.
Opinion column published in the newspaper El Peruano
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