Indigenous and local knowledge (ILK) systems are critical for achieving biodiversity conservation, climate change adaptation, and other environmental goals. However, ILK systems around the world are increasingly threatened by multiple stressors.Our study assesses the effect of climate change on ILK held by crop farmers in Peru's Colca Valley. We collected qualitative data on farmers' ILK through semi-structured interviews, which we supplemented with climatological trend analysis in four Colca Valley districts. We found that shifts in the rainy season together with warmer weather affected farmers' ILK, which was less effective for informing crop planting and irrigation practices in the context of climate uncertainty and unpredictability. Changing and uncertain ILK poses obstacles to adaptation strategies that require long-term institution building from local resource users, who may prioritize short-term solutions addressing urgent needs.
Coproduction is a process that involves scientists and citizens engaging throughout the production of knowledge, decisions, and/or policies. This approach has been widely applied in an international context for addressing global environmental issues. It is customary for scientists to travel to rural communities, where both scientists and local knowledge holders work together and jointly design solutions to pressing problems. Such collaboration, however, often involves high costs for both residents and scientists, which can reduce project effectiveness. This study examines the challenges associated with coproduction in the context of changing rural livelihoods in beneficiary communities. We specifically conduct a self‐analysis of the coproduction process led by our own university team, where scientists designed tools for water and crop management together with community members in Peru's Caylloma province. We collected qualitative data on the coproduction challenges in five local districts in Caylloma, using focus groups and semi‐structured interviews. Our results indicate that changing socioeconomic conditions in rural communities undermined the long‐term sustainability and effectiveness of the coproduction efforts and deliverables. These included increased migration, market integration, and reliance on regional institutions for water and crop management.
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