Introducing the Case Study Areas: Hydro-climatic and Governance Contexts - Climate Change and Water Governance: Adaptive Capacity in Chile and Switzerland - page 101

population, energy, artificial snow) as well as having an impact on water quality and
related ecosystems. Furthermore, hydroelectric production has also impacted river
quantity, quality and water related ecosystems not only through decreased river
flows, but also through hydropeaking (Von Arx 2009 ; Bonzi 2009 ) . Hydro-
production is set to grow in coming years, especially from micro-hydropower plants
due to Federal Office for Energy's promotion of renewable energy through the
subsidy system Kostendeckende Einspeisevergütung (KEV) (BFE 2009 ) .
As an alpine country, Switzerland is particularly threatened by climate change,
since the most pronounced effects of global warming are projected to be over land,
in the northern hemisphere in the winter months (Bürki et al. 2005 ) . The resulting
glacial retreat, melting of permafrost as well as the changes in vegetation and
precipitation, are already raising considerable challenges across the country. In
summary, for a double CO 2 simulation, higher winter temperatures and a more
marked increase in summer temperatures are noted. Precipitation will also be higher
and more intense during winter, but much reduced in summer months (Häberli and
Beniston 1998 ); seasonal shifts in the timing of extreme precipitation events and
their intensity will also result in impacts on the mountain environment and infra-
structure different to what has been experienced in recent decades (Beniston 2006 ) .
Between the mid-nineteenth century to the mid-1970s alpine glaciers lost on average
a third of their length and half their volume in response to temperature increases that
in many parts of the Alps have exceeded 1-1.5 °C since 1900, i.e., about three times
the global-average temperature rise (Beniston 2004 ). Since then, a further 20-30%
of ice volume has melted. In the heat wave of 2003, glaciers lost 5-10% of their
2,000 total volume (Häberli et al. 2005 ). Reports have shown the impacts of
increased warming on glacier retreat and their consequences for the energy and
economic system of the Swiss Alps (Horton et al. 2005 ) .
Increased glacial melt also is leading to an increase in flood risks and other
natural hazard events (OcCC 2008 ) . Increased fl ooding and extreme precipitation
events are compounded by an increase in risk exposure due to infrastructure/housing
development in vulnerable areas which are currently seen as 'safe' due to technical
interventions. Temperature increases at alpine elevations also raise demand for water
uses such as artificial snow making and summer cooling/drinking water leading to
complex management shifts, compounded by changes in seasonality.

6.3 Aconcagua Basin, Chile

The case of Chile represents a very different political paradigm, one that is informed
by colonial elitism, neo-liberal market ideology and dictatorship. It was the Pinochet
military dictatorship (1973-1990) that pioneered the neo-liberal development strat-
egy, which is still in place today. Neo-liberal ideology holds that social functions are
best managed through the free markets, and that economic development should be
undertaken by the private sector, with the state playing a facilitating regulatory