00:00In the Chilean Andes, these people dig channels and trenches to, as they call it, sow and
00:07reap water.
00:08It's an ancient practice that changes the landscape and also slows down runoff, redirecting
00:14the fluid to seep into the ground in specific areas.
00:18The aim is to keep the moisture in the soil for longer.
00:24This part is dry.
00:26It needs fresh soil in order to turn really green again.
00:36The Atacama Desert is one of the driest places on earth.
00:41Only the cold deserts in the polar regions are drier.
00:44The Atacama covers an area of around 100,000 square kilometers in Chile, Bolivia, Argentina
00:51and Peru.
00:55It's so dry that in some regions not a single drop of rain has fallen for 400 years.
01:02But the desert is also home to zones of water and life, the bofidales.
01:08These are wetlands in the high Andes that are fed by rain and meltwater from glaciers.
01:13Over generations, the Aymara communities have developed a complex system for collecting
01:19and distributing the precious water.
01:24The canal that Fortunato Vilches maintains to irrigate his fields was already used by
01:30his grandparents.
01:32It and others underpin farming in the region.
01:37We built this canal because we wanted to plant potatoes and quinoa.
01:41We were even able to plant garlic and vegetables here.
01:46But now the canal is blocked.
01:49Because we still need it, we have to fix that.
01:55Lush pastures for the livestock are also fed by the water.
01:59The people in this region depend on their llamas and alpacas.
02:04The bofidales' ecosystem is vital to the well-being of the animals and therefore also for the
02:10people.
02:11Pedro Marín's ancestors passed on their knowledge to his generation.
02:18Our forefathers and mothers taught us that water has to come first, so everyone can benefit
02:23from it.
02:24Animals, birds, everyone.
02:27We aren't the only ones who depend on it.
02:29Many things are only made possible by water.
02:34Behind the old technique is a scientific concept that water flows more slowly in earth.
02:40When it rains or when snow or glaciers melt, the Aymara therefore try to retain as much
02:45runoff as possible so it has more time to seep into the soil and replenish groundwater
02:51reserves, a process called infiltration.
02:55The communities around the Esluga volcano in the Terrapacá region in northern Chile
03:00have been hit hard by climate change.
03:03It's actually raining a little today in Terrapacá, although it's known for its ultra-dry climate.
03:10Temperatures are growing more extreme here, while people say droughts last longer and
03:14less snowfalls than in the past.
03:17Many families live from the sale of alpaca wool.
03:21For the communities here, water and rain are synonymous with life and economic stability.
03:28The soil is very salty.
03:31If it doesn't rain, everything is covered in salt.
03:35When it rains, it washes away all the salt.
03:38When it doesn't, everything is yellow.
03:41So when it rains, we're happy.
03:46Rain helps replenish the groundwater reserves that feed the wetlands.
03:52The soil here absorbs the water like a sponge and stores it for drier stretches.
04:00The bofedales play a key role in the ancient technique of sowing and harvesting water.
04:10The methods developed in parallel in different places during the pre-Inca and Inca periods,
04:15at least a thousand years ago.
04:17They're still used today, both in Latin American countries and in Spain.
04:25The centuries-old techniques ensure that less water evaporates and that it can flow greater
04:31distances.
04:32That's why they're important to water supply in nearby towns and communities.
04:38The bofedales still provide water even in times of drought, so they can mitigate the
04:44effects of extreme weather events.
04:48As a child, Pedro Lucas learned all this from his grandfather.
04:55We sow the water so that it returns to the surface later in winter, so in August and
05:02September.
05:09The bofedales' ecosystem also stores large amounts of CO2, and it provides a home for
05:17many species that live in the green oases in the midst of the desert.
05:29But as more and more people leave the countryside for the city, knowledge about the old techniques
05:35is lost.
05:39My children and grandchildren are no longer here.
05:43They study and work in the city.
05:45And I admit the climate here is a bit harsh.
05:49They moved to the city to get away from here.
05:52Now they don't have the experience.
05:55And they don't want to come back either, because the work is very hard.
06:02Hard labor, but also very sustainable.
06:06Work that can reduce the impact of extreme weather conditions.
06:11Without the bofedales, there would be much less life in the Atacama Desert.
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