Drivers of change in the wetlands of Latin America: The case of the coastal wetlands of Lima

Abstract

This paper compiles the drivers of change (DC) in the coastal wetlands of Lima. The wetlands with the most DC in this region were Los Pantanos de Villa (10), Ventanilla Wetlands and Laguna El Paraíso (9) while Carquín wetland, Medio Mundo (5) and the Humedal Costero Poza de La Arenilla (3) have fewer.  The most frequent DCs were the accumulation of rubble and/or garbage (in 100% of the wetlands), population growth and/or urbanization, the introduction of species, and degradation due to livestock and grazing (all this, present in 75% of these wetlands). Common DCs are discussed; due to the low similarity between wetlands, the need to propose specific strategies for each wetland is also recognized.