*4.5. Fall Research Projects*

In the fall, we advised independent student research, and coordinated discussions to encourage collaboration between students in weekly meetings. Embedding the students' international research experience within the coursework, and participation in the follow-up semester, instills lasting learning [56]. We introduced new methodological approaches through four introductory labs, in which students explored and processed drone-derived imagery, precipitation and runoff data to construct a water balance, seismic data to determine water-holding units in the subsurface, and canal hydraulics data to design irrigation

canals. As the semester progressed, we loosened the structure, allowing more time for students to creatively explore their individual research topics. We met with students to review their progress, in a series of checkpoints designed to lead students through analyses, interpretation, and preparation for oral and written reports. Importantly, students were asked to include a "capacity-building statement", outlining a plan to integrate the knowledge they produced into the community sphere. By explicitly including the needs of the community, we guided students to apply their research, fostering a deeper appreciation for the host country and, importantly, an enhanced understanding of one's agency and responsibility as a local and global citizen (see, e.g., [66]). Table 1 presents a list of student-led projects, either in the classroom, in the field, or both, each project's contribution to ILEK, and the skillsets acquired by the students.

### **5. Knowledge Coproduced and Project Impacts**

### *5.1. Upstream Knowledge: Upper Ramuschaka Watershed and Local Water Resources*

The primary water source used for irrigation in Zurite is the 2.12 km<sup>2</sup> Upper Ramuschaka Watershed (Figure 4). The URW presents as a typical puna landscape showing glacial morphology, including steep headwalls of bedrock or grasslands and low gradient bofedales. The underlying geology is composed primarily of sandstones, conglomerates, quartzites and mudstones, with isolated carbonates in the western headwaters of the URW. The sedimentary units are part of the San Jeronimo Group, which is Eocene to Oligocene in age [67]. The sedimentary units typically dip to the southwest; however, there are a number of smaller-scale folds and faults in the URW. There is a large quartz monzodiorite intrusive complex, which is likely part of the Yauri-Andahuaylas Batholith (42–30 Ma) along the western boundary of the URW [67–69].

We measured annual precipitation in WY 2019 to be 752 mm, and in WY 2020 to be 825 mm (details found in [70]), which is similar to the 38-year average of 855 mm in Anta (10 km away, [71]). Over our study period, approximately 50% of precipitation occurred between December and February, and only 1–3% between June and August. Runoff accounted for 62–80% of annual precipitation and was also highly seasonal, with only 10–18% occurring in the dry season. Importantly, however, streamflow measured at the diversion weir located at the outlet of the URW never fell below 11 L/s. Streamflow in the URW is fed directly by groundwater draining from hillslopes or the slow drainage of bofedales, which hold large volumes of water and cover 11.5% of the URW. We estimate, conservatively, that seasonal storage in bofedales amounts to about one-half of dry season runoff in the URW. The presence of bofedales in the source watershed of Zurite, and their capacity to seasonally store and release groundwater to sustain perennial flow, represents a built-in source of natural resiliency and is the focus of ongoing research [70].

### *5.2. Downstream Knowledge: Water Use and Governance in Zurite*

Through discussions with local leaders and water users, we produced the following summary of how water is used in Zurite within the context of water resources derived from the URW. Systems in Zurite can be described as 'Indigenous', meaning that irrigation is for the most part carried out in a manner similar to traditional Andean practices (see, e.g., [72–74]). Water draining from the URW is diverted via a concrete weir and inter-basin transfer canal, where it is routed through a system of canals to flood and irrigate crops to the east of Zurite (Figure 4). Corn, grown in the wet season, represents approximately 80% of the agricultural production across Zurite's 1200 ha of cropland, with lesser production of potatoes, quinoa, wheat, fava beans, and forage for animals. The irrigation need is most acute over the dry winter, from May to September (primarily to grow fava beans) and, crucially, to irrigate fields recently sowed with corn before the onset of the rainy season, which begins in September (Figure 5).

**Figure 4.** Zurite and the Upper Ramuschaka Watershed (URW). The URW is located 1300 m above the village, within the puna biome. Water is often diverted from the URW via an inter-basin canal for irrigation to the east of Zurite. Blue squares show the locations of 4 surface reservoirs, and the green-shaded area shows the area in which we collaborated with the local community to construct 1.3 km of irrigation canals (map and photo below).

Agricultural plots, known as chacras, are typically 0.25 to 1 ha and are owned and operated by individual families. Because the Ramuschaka Watershed is within the District of Zurite, the community of Zurite has the right to form and elect a local Water Users' Commission. Similar to other Andean communities, the Water Users' Commission manages turnos, or turns, in which users pay 15 soles/hectare (~USD 5/hectare) for the right to divert water from the extensive canal network to flood-irrigate their chacras. An aging canal infrastructure system and the nature of flood irrigation result in poor water-use efficiency. The president of the commission is elected every 4 years and is responsible for regulating and ensuring equitable water allocation to users in the community. In order to operate, the Water Users' Commission in Zurite must follow the regulations outlined by both the regional Water Administrative Authority in Cusco and the National Water Authority and collect and pay taxes to both administrative bodies. According to the Zuriteños, only rarely do these payments return to directly benefit the local community through irrigation system improvements. Instead of incorporating local best practices of land and water management, governmen<sup>t</sup> institutions often seek to impose a homogeneous system of water infrastructure across diverse agrarian communities.

The efficient use of water resources in Zurite is challenged by limited storage, an aging infrastructure, and, in at least one case, a lack of community-based knowledge. The community operates five reservoirs with a total storage capacity of 10,500 m3. This volume is substantially below dry-season irrigation demands and necessitates some fields being left fallow [75]. These reservoirs do not, nor were they intended to, function as long-term storage but instead operate as water elevation controls, allowing the multiple low flowrate water sources to accumulate prior to delivery. The reservoirs are filled and drained approximately daily during the dry season, as water users schedule irrigation delivery on a rotating schedule to meet individual families' needs. Thus, the disruption of water

delivered from both local and regional water supplies for even a short time can threaten a family's crops and livelihood. The construction of these systems across steep and, in some cases, unstable terrain makes irrigation disruptions extremely common. Figure 6a illustrates the construction variety throughout most of the system—concrete canals with control gates that minimize seepage water losses run parallel to and in series with handdug, earthen canals. Figure 6b shows a previously well-designed and controlled canal, constructed by the municipality, after it was damaged by a debris flow in March 2019. The debris flow was caused by a poorly designed and hydraulically mismanaged larger canal in the upper basin that was installed by regional authorities to transfer water from the outlet of the URW to an adjacent small drainage channel. Here, national water organizations proceeded without the involvement of local knowledge in the canal design, which led, in part, to this catastrophic debris flow and the destruction of the canal and surrounding crops of corn.

**Figure 5.** Average monthly precipitation (mm) and typical monthly irrigation needs (mm) for major crops grown in Zurite. The need for water is most acute in the dry winter to irrigate fields of fava beans, feed crops, and recently planted corn (August-November). Figure by W. Wunderlich and A. Virgil.

### *5.3. Project Impacts on the Community of Zurite*
