Agritourism as a sustainable adaptation strategy to climate change in the Andean Altiplano

The Andean Altiplano has a diversity of landscapes supporting rural livelihoods. Climate change historical trends and projections point to disruptions in the livelihoods of farmers in this region. This context of climate change requires system-wide analysis to determine socio-ecological adjustments. In response, we conceptualized agritourism as a climate change adaptation strategy capable of supplementing agricultural incomes and sustaining rural livelihoods in the Andean Altiplano. We operationalized the framework of change with data gathered from 134 households in Ancoraimes (Bolivian Altiplano) to identify attributes that could enable or constraint agritourism development at five intervention scales: production, livelihood, community/watershed, landscape/ecosystem, and government. By assessing the climate and socio-economic drivers and dynamics of change, and the local assets enabling agency in rural communities, agritourism is presented as a short-term strategy to increase household's revenues, reduce risks associated with agricultural production, and decrease the depletion of natural resources (soils, water, biodiversity) for the long-term sustainability of Andean agriculture-based livelihoods.