Climate Change Impacts On The Northwestern Andean (NOA) and Western (Cuyo) Andean Regions of Argentina - Impact of Global Changes on Mountains: Responses and Adaptation - page 468

b) Cuyo
The most important agricultural production system is winemaking. Until the
1970s this industry was almost exclusively oriented to satisfy the domestic
market. From that time onwards some multinational enterprises completely
updated technical, institutional and commercial procedures and processes
to put the industry on a fi rm footing to play in the international arena
of high quality wines. No less important was the parallel development
of ancillary commercial concerns like winery- and gastronomy-oriented
tourism (Richard-Jorba 2008).
Almost 100% of the agricultural area in each of the provinces of San
Juan and Mendoza was under irrigation in 2002 (INDEC 2011). About 87%
of that area was irrigated gravitationally, and 12.3% was under localized
irrigation; sprinkler irrigation was not used in the Cuyo region.
Gravitational irrigation predominated over localized irrigation in
Mendoza and the converse is true in San Juan.
Tourism
National and international tourism is a well-developed industry in both
regions; adventure tourism and sport fi shing are some of the most important
amenities there (Mintur 2011).
In the provinces of Jujuy and Salta (NOA region) the ruins of pre-
Columbian cultures, and fortifi cations and buildings dating back to the
time of the Spanish conquest and colonization are major tourist attractions
(Bergesio and Montial 2010). The beauty of the landscape together with a dry
and sunny weather from March to November attracts tourists interested in
trekking, sightseeing, and leisure to the whole NOA region. In the province
of La Rioja the Talampaya National Park offers hills with multicolored walls
and interesting indigenous carvings (Mintur 2011). In the province of Jujuy
the Quebrada de Humahuaca (Humahuaca gorge) is the most important
tourism destination; it is also an UNESCO World Heritage Site.
In Cuyo there are two main attractions for both domestic and foreign
tourists: geology and wineries; some of the latter provide lodging and
high-quality gastronomy. Vineyards and wineries of international renown
have led to the development of rural, adventure, cultural, agricultural and
ecological tourism (Pastor 2010). In the province of San Juan the Valley of
the Moon (Ischigualasto National Park), an eerie landscape of wind-carved
hills that also is a repository of plant and animal fossils.
We take the beauty of the regional landscapes as the ecosystem service
par excellence , because it is nature in its full manifestation which attracts
people to gaze at it. Both the NOA and Cuyo regions have particularly
distinct landscapes; the former region, however, has a larger diversity of