Browsing by Autor "Dirk L. Hoffmann"

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Climate Change and Protected Areas in Bolivia
(Springer Nature, 2010) Dirk L. Hoffmann; Imke Oetting
Climate Change Induced Glacier Retreat and Risk Management: Glacial Lake Outburst Floods (GLOFs) in the Apolobamba Mountain Range, Bolivia
(Springer Nature, 2012) Dirk L. Hoffmann; Daniel Weggenmann
Consecuencias del retroceso glaciar en la Cordillera boliviana
(Spanish National Research Council, 2008) Dirk L. Hoffmann
A la fecha existe un importante número de estudios que demuestran la tendencia actual hacia la desaparición de los glaciares bolivianos. El presente estudio del impacto socio-económico del retroceso de los glaciares es un primer intento de obtener un panorama sobre dónde y qué cambios se podría esperar en un futuro cercano. Aproximadamente el 80% de los glaciares bolivianos tienen una superficie menor a 0,5 km²; por lo tanto, es muy probable que la mayoría de ellos hayan desaparecido completamente durante los próximos 10 a 15 años. Los impactos socio-económicos se harán notar sobre todo en un nivel local, y los elementos más preocupantes son, por un lado, la falta de investigación sobre el tema y por otro, la falta de una conciencia pública sobre el problema en la población boliviana y que una parte socio-políticamente importante y numerosa de la población será probablemente más afectada, la metrópoli La Paz – El Alto.
Glacier change and glacial lake outburst flood risk in the Bolivian Andes
(Copernicus Publications, 2016) Simon J. Cook; Ioannis Kougkoulos; Laura Edwards; Jason M. Dortch; Dirk L. Hoffmann
Abstract. Glaciers of the Bolivian Andes represent an important water resource for Andean cities and mountain communities, yet relatively little work has assessed changes in their extent over recent decades. In many mountain regions, glacier recession has been accompanied by the development of proglacial lakes, which can pose a glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF) hazard. However, no studies have assessed the development of such lakes in Bolivia despite recent GLOF incidents here. Our mapping from satellite imagery reveals an overall areal shrinkage of 228.1 ± 22.8 km2 (43.1 %) across the Bolivian Cordillera Oriental between 1986 and 2014. Shrinkage was greatest in the Tres Cruces region (47.3 %), followed by the Cordillera Apolobamba (43.1 %) and Cordillera Real (41.9 %). A growing number of proglacial lakes have developed as glaciers have receded, in accordance with trends in most other deglaciating mountain ranges, although the number of ice-contact lakes has decreased. The reasons for this are unclear, but the pattern of lake change has varied significantly throughout the study period, suggesting that monitoring of future lake development is required as ice continues to recede. Ultimately, we use our 2014 database of proglacial lakes to assess GLOF risk across the Bolivian Andes. We identify 25 lakes that pose a potential GLOF threat to downstream communities and infrastructure. We suggest that further studies of potential GLOF impacts are urgently required.
The Klimablog www.cambioclimatico-bolivia.org: Personal Reflections After 5 Years of Blogging on Climate Change from, for and About Bolivia
(Springer Nature, 2017) Dirk L. Hoffmann
The Sajama National Park in Bolivia
(International Mountain Society, 2007) Dirk L. Hoffmann
Sajama National Park in Bolivia's Cordillera Occidental is not only the country's oldest national park; it also contains Bolivia's highest mountain, ice-capped Nevado Sajama, at 6542 m. Created in 1939 by presidential decree with the primary objective of protecting native keñua (Polylepis tarapacana) forests, the Sajama National Park, later ratified by national law, had neither formal administration nor park rangers until 1995.Towering over the barren lands of the Altiplano—Bolivia's highland plateau, at an altitude of about 4000 m—Mount Sajama plays a key role in traditional indigenous mythology, as well as in the formation of the present-day identity of local communities. The latter factor is largely due to a new policy and to multiple activities launched by the Bolivian national parks authority (Servicio Nacional de Áreas Protegidas, SERNAP) during the past decade. As an initial result, local perception of Sajama National Park as an “imposition from above” has given way to referring to the park as “our protected area.”