Beyond energy production: Stakeholders’ perceptions of changes in agricultural systems and their drivers around Colombian hydropower dams
2025
Caroline de Souza Cruz Salomão | Nilo de Oliveira Nascimento | Letícia Santos de Lima
Hydropower dams affect natural resources’ access and use, interacting with other drivers that change socio-ecological systems. Here we investigate the perceived changes in land and water resources for agricultural production surrounding two large dams in Colombia: El Quimbo and Hidrosogamoso. Through a survey with 77 representatives from agriculture-related and community-based organizations, followed by semi-structured interviews with them, plus 7 government representatives, we assess the role played by the reservoirs commissioning in those changes, as well as the relevance of co-occurring drivers as perceived by interviewees. Results show that downstream areas and smallholder producers were identified as the most impacted due to dams’ operations. Changes in water availability and crop production were the most perceived, with adaptation strategies including the adoption of climate-resilient crops, agroforestry or intercropping systems, biofertilizers and income diversification. Underlying drivers, e.g., climate phenomena, input price and commodity prices, were able to mask the effect of proximate drivers, e.g., dams. Comprehensive investigations about the dynamics between drivers and indirect changes should be internalized into impact assessment policies.
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