Peru, indigenous communities, and going back to traditions

Dealing with climate change with ancient traditions: Peru is going back to farming traditions that indigenous people living there centuries ago. This includes planting crops that are adapted to the land, temperature, and weather, such as the huaña pink potato which lasts 4 times longer than normal potatoes in storage and which can resist frost, hail, extreme rain and drought. Peruvian farmers are also looking into different techniques of farming, such as level terraces on the mountains and hillsides. It's very promising that organizations are now looking into local traditions that have persisted through the years as a way to combat climate change. While not all traditions are equally efficient or relevant now, there are many benefits from learning from the past, especially if they are traditions that had been honed for that particular environment over many years. Jared Diamond writes of successful (and unsuccessful) societies from the past and present in his book Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Survive, including examples of farming methodology and government structure that may be worthwhile to explore now.

In another article about Peru, Peru is now one of the leading Latin American countries for indigenous communities rights. A new law recognizing land ownership rights has now come into effect, which can help reduce social conflict between locals and companies interested in mining, logging, or other resource extraction. It'll be seen whether the government takes the consultation of such indigenous leaders into consideration when making decisions, as some countries make decisions contrary to the wishes of their indigenous communities despite having consulted them.