Effects of climate change and anthropogenic pressure on water resources and ecosystem services in a high-elevation Andean socio-ecosystem (Katari basin, Lake Titicaca, Bolivia): A synthesis
Abstract
Climate change and human activities are transforming socio-ecosystems worldwide, damaging the water cycle and biological diversity. This work analyzes the current state and vulnerabilities of the Katari watershed (Bolivia), a region representative of Andean socio-ecosystems. The high-elevation Puna is one of the biomes most affected by climate change in the South American Central Andes. Regional climate scenarios predict increasing warming, declining precipitation and enhanced evaporation, which are expected to increase the frequency and duration of droughts. Glaciers are rapidly retreating, and critical ecosystem components such as peatlands and lakes are impacted by global change. Anthropogenic pressure significantly compounds these challenges, accelerating system's degradation. The Katari watershed, which includes the large urban area of El Alto, faces persistent challenges due to insufficient sanitation infrastructure. The discharge of untreated effluents containing a mixture of organic matter, nutrients, metal(loid)s, and emerging contaminants like antibiotics damages the Katari - Lake Titicaca socio-ecosystems. This contamination poses potential public health risks associated with sustained exposure to environmental contaminants. Finally, the synergistic effects of climate and pollution can lead to abrupt degradation events, such as eutrophication and massive algal blooms in Lake Titicaca, threatening local biodiversity. Addressing these challenges urgently requires reducing contaminant discharge, preserving natural spaces and creating engineered buffer zones that leverage local ecological characteristics, like plant-based filtration systems, to naturally remove contaminants from water. Furthermore, advancing sustainable management requires the reinforcement of governance structures that incorporate local communities' needs and knowledge into decisionmaking processes, thereby fostering more resilient management systems.
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BibTeX
@article{guedron2026effects,
title = {{Effects of climate change and anthropogenic pressure on water resources and ecosystem services in a high-elevation Andean socio-ecosystem (Katari basin, Lake Titicaca, Bolivia): A synthesis}},
author = {Stéphane Guédron and Dario Acha and Jorge Molina-Carpio and Carlos Revilla and Alejandra Domic and Carlos Molina and Fabien Anthelme and Antoine Rabatel and Thomas Condom and Jhan Carlo Espinoza and Sébastien Hardy and Victor-Hugo Perales and Claude Legouill and Frédéric Satge and Eléonore Resongles and Géraldine Sarret and Dennis Archundia and Luis Roberto Hernández-Angulo and Marc Pouilly and Angela Montecino and Mauricio Ormachea and Daniel Espinoza and Nilo Lima Quispe and Noemi Tirado and Jacques Gardon and Alvaro Soruco and Céline Duwig},
journal = {Science of the Total Environment},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1016/j.scitotenv.2026.182339},
url = {https://hal.science/hal-05784258v1},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Effects of climate change and anthropogenic pressure on water resources and ecosystem services in a high-elevation Andean socio-ecosystem (Katari basin, Lake Titicaca, Bolivia): A synthesis
AU - Stéphane Guédron
AU - Dario Acha
AU - Jorge Molina-Carpio
AU - Carlos Revilla
AU - Alejandra Domic
AU - Carlos Molina
AU - Fabien Anthelme
AU - Antoine Rabatel
AU - Thomas Condom
AU - Jhan Carlo Espinoza
AU - Sébastien Hardy
AU - Victor-Hugo Perales
AU - Claude Legouill
AU - Frédéric Satge
AU - Eléonore Resongles
AU - Géraldine Sarret
AU - Dennis Archundia
AU - Luis Roberto Hernández-Angulo
AU - Marc Pouilly
AU - Angela Montecino
AU - Mauricio Ormachea
AU - Daniel Espinoza
AU - Nilo Lima Quispe
AU - Noemi Tirado
AU - Jacques Gardon
AU - Alvaro Soruco
AU - Céline Duwig
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/08
JO - Science of the Total Environment
DO - 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2026.182339
UR - https://hal.science/hal-05784258v1
AB - Climate change and human activities are transforming socio-ecosystems worldwide, damaging the water cycle and biological diversity. This work analyzes the current state and vulnerabilities of the Katari watershed (Bolivia), a region representative of Andean socio-ecosystems. The high-elevation Puna is one of the biomes most affected by climate change in the South American Central Andes. Regional climate scenarios predict increasing warming, declining precipitation and enhanced evaporation, which are expected to increase the frequency and duration of droughts. Glaciers are rapidly retreating, and critical ecosystem components such as peatlands and lakes are impacted by global change. Anthropogenic pressure significantly compounds these challenges, accelerating system's degradation. The Katari watershed, which includes the large urban area of El Alto, faces persistent challenges due to insufficient sanitation infrastructure. The discharge of untreated effluents containing a mixture of organic matter, nutrients, metal(loid)s, and emerging contaminants like antibiotics damages the Katari - Lake Titicaca socio-ecosystems. This contamination poses potential public health risks associated with sustained exposure to environmental contaminants. Finally, the synergistic effects of climate and pollution can lead to abrupt degradation events, such as eutrophication and massive algal blooms in Lake Titicaca, threatening local biodiversity. Addressing these challenges urgently requires reducing contaminant discharge, preserving natural spaces and creating engineered buffer zones that leverage local ecological characteristics, like plant-based filtration systems, to naturally remove contaminants from water. Furthermore, advancing sustainable management requires the reinforcement of governance structures that incorporate local communities' needs and knowledge into decisionmaking processes, thereby fostering more resilient management systems.
SN - 0048-9697
SN - 1879-1026
ER -