Water resources management in Chile
Much of Chile is dominated by the Andes Mountain range and many high altitude glaciers. With rising temperatures, the IPCC warns of increased melting for many of these glaciers, with some of them disappearing as early as 2020–2030. The Third Assessment Report from the IPCC indicate a critical situation for glaciers in neighboring countries such as Bolivia and Peru. The IPCC report goes on to say that glaciers in Chile are drastically reducing their volume at an increasing rate and that changes in temperature and humidity are the primary cause. In an article from Science Daily in March 2008, the news agency reports that, "if the inter-tropical glaciers of Chile, Argentina, and Colombia disappear, water availability and hydropower generation will be affected." Of the thirty test glaciers monitored in the Andes by the World Glacier Monitoring Service (WGMS) only Chile's Echaurren Norte glacier thickened between 2005 and 2006.
Chongon Colonche Range
The Chongon Colonche Range (Spanish "Cordillera Chongon Colonche") is a mountain range on the central pacific coast of Ecuador, located in the provinces of Guayas and Manabi. The range peaks at 800 metres above sea level and together with the Mache Chindul Range is the only major mountain range west of the Andes. Much of the range remains clad in indigenous tropical wet forest, although large areas have been cleared for agriculture. The remaining forest contains high levels of biodiversity and the entire region has been classified as an "Important Bird Area" by Birdlife International.