Dr. Jorge Recharte
Dr. Jorge Recharte at construction site, bioremediation system – Shallap Canal, Ancash, Peru. Photo by A. Zimmer
Dr. Jorge Recharte
Executive Director, Instituto de Montaña
Jorge Recharte, Ph.D., is the Executive Director of the Instituto de Montaña and is based in Lima, Peru. Dr. Recharte holds a Ph.D. in Anthropology from Cornell University. He has taken full advantage of the dramatically visible consequences of climate change on tropical glaciers to draw attention to the Andes’ important role in the welfare of mountain communities and the region as a whole. He and his team have organized and implemented many transformational climate change adaptation projects for mountain ecosystems.
Fostering cooperation between scientists, mountain communities and local governments, Dr. Recharte has helped develop solutions for large watersheds as well as for specialized challenges, including reducing the risk of glacial lake flooding.
Recharte assumed the lead for the independent non-profit, Instituto de Montaña, in 2020 as The Mountain Institute (TMI) closed its operations in the USA. TMI’s ongoing programs in the Andes were transitioned to the Instituto along with TMI’s legacy of innovative work in mountain regions.
Dr. Recharte joined The Mountain Institute in 1997 to head its Andes Program (known in the Andes region as “Instituto de Montaña.”) Prior to TMI, he spent three years in Ecuador working for the Latin American Social Science Faculty (FLACSO) designing and heading the graduate education and research program in Mountain Societies and Sustainable Development. Between 1980-1981 and 1990-1993 he was an associate researcher at the International Potato Center where he developed participatory research methodologies in agriculture.
Dr. Recharte currently serves on the Board of The Common Good Institute and is a member of the Andes Chapter of the International Mountain Society (IMS).
Op-ed in The Washington Post by Dr. Recharte: “These Indigenous Communities are Models for How to Adapt to Climate Change.”
Op-ed co-authored by Dr. Recharte: “As Glacial Floods Threaten Mountain Communities, a Global Exchange is Fostering Adaptation.”
Video interview with Dr. Recharte about the initiative that won the 2018 St Andrews Prize for the Environment.