Floods, Markets, and Institutions

Floods, Markets, and Institutions What’s changing food security in the Peruvian Amazon?

INDIGENOUS

HEALTH adaptation to

CLIMATE

CHANGE

By Mya Sherman

Introduction This project examines the factors that influence household food security in an indigenous community in the Peruvian Amazon. Food security is a term that describes when all people have access to sufficient and high quality food at all times. In this study, we examine how social, political, economic, and climatic factors affect food security. We focus particularly on the impact of seasonal flooding on household food security.

This participatory research was carried out in the Shipibo community of Panaillo in May-August 2013. Panaillo is located in the Amazonian Lowlands of Peru on the Panaillo tributary of the Ucayali River. Due to the community’s location on the Panaillo River, Panaillo, like many other communities in the area, completely floods each year. The flooding generally lasts 2-3 months, beginning in January with the start of the rainy season and reaching its peak level in February or March. Similar to all of the communities on the Ucayali River, Panaillo residents have developed a way of life to ensure that there are sources of income and food throughout the year. Since Panaillo’s location on the river inhibits yearlong agriculture, Panaillo residents instead practice seasonal agriculture and cultivate fastgrowing crops. Panaillo residents also depend greatly on fishing and other income-generating livelihoods.

However, many indigenous Amazonian communities are currently experiencing major social and environmental changes, which could have profound effects on the food system and health by affecting the ways in which traditional livelihoods and coping strategies are practiced.

According to climate change projections, the frequency and severity of extreme climatic events, such as flooding and droughts, will increase in the future as a result of climate change. Flooding and droughts can have serious consequences for the Peruvian Amazon, especially in rural indigenous communities where livelihoods are dependent on fragile environmental resources. Flooding and droughts can threaten agriculture, fishing, biodiversity, nutrition, health, and livelihoods in this region. Therefore, it is important to understand how communities manage extreme climatic events to maintain food security.

In this study, we employed qualitative methods, including participant observation, six focus groups, and semistructured interviews. Interviews were carried out with 27 Panaillo residents, 15 migrants that previously lived in Panaillo, and 32 institutions. In this report, we present the results and recommendations that emerged from this study.

“There are no crops. The flood leaves us with nothing.”

“There is nowhere to bring the product and there are no stable markets.�

Results Food insecurity is a serious problem in Panaillo.

The majority of current residents and migrants interviewed in this study reported low food quality and insufficient food quantities in their households, which resulted in reduced food consumption. All current and former Panaillo residents interviewed reported being worried about their household’s food security, especially for children in the family. More than 77 percent of current and former Panaillo respondents reported feeling hungry, skipping meals, and eating less than they felt they should at various points in the last year.

plants in Panaillo, creates difficult working and fishing conditions, and increases illnesses and injuries. Flooding also brings many opportunities to the residents of Panaillo.

Seasonal flooding creates large fertile riverbeds that can be used for agriculture. Flooding also replenishes fish stocks, facilitates travel by boat, and enables community members to extract and sell timber. However, many community members cannot take advantage of these opportunities since they lack the necessary financial, social, and physical resources.

Former and current residents of Panaillo struggle to participate in the Why are there such high levels of market. household food insecurity in Panaillo? Panaillo residents increasingly depend on financial Households in Panaillo experience high levels of food insecurity mainly as a result of 1) insufficient fish and harvest foods for household consumption and 2) low levels of household income with which to purchase food.

Individuals that do not work or fish (e.g., women and the elderly) experience greater difficulty in feeding their families. This situation is produced by several social, political, and environmental factors. These factors will be discussed in the following sections.

Flooding strongly influences fishing and agriculture cycles.

Flooding creates both challenges and opportunities for Panaillo community members and their livelihoods.

Every year, seasonal flooding kills all of the crops and

resources to buy food, transport, and livelihood equipment (e.g., ice chest to sell fish, fabric and thread for traditional handicrafts, etc.). However, it is often difficult to generate sufficient income to meet these needs. All of the Panaillo residents and migrants interviewed reported that they did not have access to a market with fair and stable prices.

Furthermore, 93% of Panaillo residents reported needing to sell their agricultural crops immediately after the harvest out of financial desperation. Selling agricultural products at this time is problematic since supply and demand control market prices and prices are lowest after the harvest. Without financial resources, community members struggle to feed their families during the floods and prior to the harvest.

Results (continued) As a result of low institutional capacity and the inappropriate use of funds, government services are lacking in isolated communities like Panaillo.

In semi-structured interviews, personnel from NGOs and government institutions discussed several concerning issues with local, regional, and national institutions.

These issues include the lack of institutional resources, limited communication within and between institutions, and the inappropriate use of funds (e.g., politicization of services, corruption, etc.). As a result of this low institutional capacity, the development and capacity of Panaillo and other communities continue to be limited and Panaillo residents cannot rely on external assistance to help maintain food security during the flood period.

Discrimination and political marginalization heighten the vulnerability of indigenous communities.

Former and current residents of Panaillo reported personal experiences of political marginalization and cultural discrimination. Interviews with personnel from governmental and non-governmental institutions similarly reported the State’s lack of recognition of the indigenous system, the dominance of the western system, and the creation of dependency within social programming.

Interviews with institutions and community members indicated that this has contributed to the loss of traditional knowledge and practices. Consequently, Panaillo residents, especially younger community members, can

no longer depend on the traditional strategies used to cope with flooding. For example, it is now less common for families to share food, which was once considered a strong Shipibo custom.

Changes in the climate as a result of extractive industries and climate change already constrain livelihoods and nutrition in Panaillo.

Interview participants reported that extractive industries (e.g., logging, mining, commercial fishing) are not being sufficiently regulated and that this has resulted in extensive resource degradation. This degradation has affected livelihood activities, such as fishing and agriculture.

Migration has emerged as a solution for these challenges, yet migrants have more difficulties feeding their families than Panaillo residents.

All migrants interviewed reported having low quality and insufficient quantities of food, which caused individuals to eat less than they felt they should in the last year.

This was the case for only 77-88% of current Panaillo residents. The migrant interviewees also discussed struggling to find jobs, insufficient financial resources, and a loss of traditional lifestyles. Migration also affected the community structure of Panaillo since migration separated family members.

“Because of high turnover, [the mayor] doesn’t know what to do when there’s a disaster.”

“Because of all of the chemicals and acids, the fish populations have completely disappeared from the river–the fish that were the principal source of food for the people that live in this river basin.�

Recommendations Strengthen agro-fishing livelihoods

Build institutional capacity

Strengthen alternative livelihoods

Emphasize preventative and holistic approaches to climate risk management

It is important to preserve agro-fishing livelihoods since agriculture and fishing are the main sources of food and income for families in Panaillo. In order to maintain food security throughout the year, households need to ensure that agricultural production is at maximum capacity. For example, it is crucial that Panaillo residents possess highquality and sufficient seeds for planting and that seeds are stored in a waterproof, lightproof container. In order to maintain fishing in the community, it is important to improve the sustainable management of fish populations and to closely monitor extractive activities.

Flooding will always constrain fishing and agriculture in Panaillo to a certain extent. It is thus important to foster and strengthen other livelihoods that are less dependent on natural resources. For example, the creation of artisanal handicrafts is a traditional activity in Shipibo communities that provides an additional source of income to families during the rainy season. In order to strengthen the artisanal handicraft trade in Panaillo, formal artisanal committees need to be formed so that Panaillo artisans may enter regional and national markets. It is also important to improve the quality of education and to teach technical skills to Panaillo residents so that they may obtain secure, profitable jobs.

Improving the administrative capacity and transparency of Peruvian institutions will benefit the delivery of services to indigenous and rural communities, like Panaillo. To facilitate culturally-appropriate and respectful social programming, it is also important to foster cross-cultural communication and to raise public awareness about indigenous communities and their current conditions.

It is also crucial to build leadership capacity in local institutions and indigenous communities and to foster institutional memory.

In the case of Ucayali, environmental changes have resulted not only from global climate change, but also from deforestation and extractive industries. It is thus critical to address these socioeconomic activities that are responsible for changing environmental conditions and to assume a more preventative approach in climate risk management. It is also important that climate risk management not only provide assistance to families after an extreme climatic event, but that institutions also work to prevent a food crisis by strengthening the capacity of families to cope with extreme climate events.

Furthermore, it is necessary to consider potential climate change impacts during disaster recovery, particularly in infrastructure and development projects.

Table of Results 2. Demographic characteristics of the community interviews

1. Interview information Who participated in the interviews?

Current residents of Panaillo Former residents of Panaillo (migrants) Institutions

# 27 15 32

What sectors participated in the institutional interviews?

Climate risk management Health Indigenous Issues Agriculture Education Sustainable Development Fishing Transportation Research

% 21.9 15.6 15.6 12.5 12.5 6.3 3.1 3.1 9.4

What types of institutions were interviewed?

Government – Community Government – District Government - Provincial Government - Regional Government - National Non-governmental Organizations

% 15.6 3.1 15.6 37.5 9.4 18.8

Gender Female Male Age Group 18-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 54-64 65-74 75+ Number of people in household 2 3 to 4 5 to 6 7 to 8 9 and more What are the sources of income in your family?

Sale of agricultural products Sale of fish Sale of traditional handicrafts Sale of timber Employment in agricultural plantation outside of community Other employment outside of community

% of individuals % of migrants that currently that formerly live in Panaillo lived in Panaillo 55.6 60 44.4 40 % of individuals % of migrants that currently that formerly live in Panaillo lived in Panaillo 14.8 3.7 14.8 14.8 37.0 3.7 14.8 3.7 7.4 18.5 11.1 7.4 0.0 3.7 % of individuals % of migrants that currently that formerly live in Panaillo lived in Panaillo 3.7 6.7 18.5 20.0 29.6 46.7 29.6 20.0 18.5 6.7 % of individuals % of migrants that currently that formerly live in Panaillo lived in Panaillo 100.0

13.3

18.5

6.7

55.6

60.0

14.8

6.7

22.2

20.0

14.8

26.7

3. Food insecurity

4. Perceptions of household food insecurity in Panaillo

In the last year, did you % of individuals % of migrants have enough food to feed that currently that formerly your family? live in Panaillo lived in Panaillo Yes 100 100 No 0 0

Which households do you think have the most difficulty getting enough food?

Those that cannot work in agro-fishing and/or incomegenerating livelihoods Single mothers and widows Elderly We all have the same difficulty Those without flood-resistant plantain Spouse was away working Does not know

In the last year, did you % of individuals % of migrants have low-quality food in that currently that formerly your house? live in Panaillo lived in Panaillo Yes 88.9 100 No 11.1 0 In the last year, did you have to eat less than you felt you should because % of individuals % of migrants there was not enough that currently that formerly food? live in Panaillo lived in Panaillo Yes 77.8 100 No 22.2 0 In the last year, were you ever hungry but did % of individuals % of migrants not eat because there that currently that formerly was not enough food? live in Panaillo lived in Panaillo Yes 85.2 80 No 14.8 20 Why did you not have % of individuals % of migrants enough food in the last that currently that formerly year? live in Panaillo lived in Panaillo Male family member did 96 0 not go fishing Low financial resources 26 100 Male family member was 22 7 away working Male family member was occupied with local work 17 0 (e.g., agriculture, commercial fishing) Lack of harvest foods 13 0 Flood conditions 9 0 explicitly mentioned

Which households do you think have the most difficulty with the flooding?

Elderly Those unable to work in agro-fishing/income-generating livelihoods Those that stay in Panaillo during the flood We all suffer equally Widows, single mothers, and orphans Those without a harvest Those that migrate to the city for the winter Those with an old house Does not know

% 44.4 44.4 25.9 14.8 3.7 3.7 14.8

% 25.9 14.8 18.5 18.5 14.8 7.4 11.1 3.7 11.1

5. Migration What is the motivation to migrate to the city?

Education and job opportunities Avoid flood conditions Live with family in city due to illness, injury or old age

% of individuals % of migrants that currently that formerly live in Panaillo lived in Panaillo 44.4

86.7

40.7

26.7

0

46.7

Do you have children that have left Panaillo to live in another place?

Yes No

% of individuals that currently live in Panaillo 80 20

We would like to express our sincere gratitude to the community of Panaillo for their hospitality and participation in this research, and particularly those community members who participated in focus groups and interviews. We would also like to thank the local institutions that participated in interviews, Dr. James Ford, Dr. Alejandro Llanos, the IHACC team in Lima and Pucallpa, Henry UrquĂ­a Rojas (Regional IHACC Coordinator - Ucayali), and the three Shipibo research assistants who supported this work. We are also grateful to Stephanie Austin, who designed this book.

This work was funded by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) of Canada’s International Research Initiative on Adaptation to Climate Change, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, McGill University, and a National Geographic Young Explorer Grant. This research was approved by the McGill University Research Ethics Board in Montreal, Canada, and the Institutional Ethics Committee at the Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia in Lima, Peru.

For more information, visit http://www.ihacc.ca or email Mya.Sherman@mail.mcgill.ca All photos by Mya Sherman 2014