The Andes – the world longest continental mountain range – extends in South America through seven different countries, namely Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile and Argentina. The population of these countries account for more than 160 million people representing more than 40% of the continent’s total population. Many Andean valleys are seasonally dry and glacier runoff is crucial to maintain a more constant flow of fresh water throughout the year. In fact, much of the snow falling is initially stored as ice in mountain glaciers before being gradually released over time. Therefore, glaciers act as critical buffers against highly seasonal precipitation and provide water for domestic, agricultural and industrial use during the dry season.

However, climate change over the 20^th century, especially global warming, has led to Andean glaciers increasingly being  out of equilibrium with their current climate. As a result, rapid glacier retreat has been observed in every country of the Andean region. The trend has intensified since the 1990s, as temperature rise has accelerated and projections for the 21th century confirm this tendency. Several studies indicate that for the end of the century, Andean temperature will be significantly warmer and exhibits a much larger interannual variability. These climate changes will affect environmental services, biodiversity and socioeconomic activity in every country of the region.

It is clear that adaptation strategies should be implemented without delay from a multidisciplinary approach , yet at the same time the scientific knowledge is not really sufficiently advanced to adequately guide such implementations.