In the case of Peru, the GIAHS project has been defined in the area located in the Central Andes, in the southern highlands of Peru, which includes two basins of the Vilcanota River (Cusco) and the Ramis River (Puno) and is called "From Machu Picchu to Lake Titicaca". In this 350 km long transect, four micro-basins have been selected, representative of the different traditional Andean agricultural systems as models of human adaptation to high mountain conditions. The population in this area corresponds to two important pre-Hispanic cultures, Quechua and Aymara, which have developed land-use systems for centuries and have preserved important traditional technologies that correspond to an ecological (mountain ecosystems), social and economic adaptation, such as terraces and platforms, elevated terrains (sukacollos), soil management systems, domestication of native plant and animal species and a social organisation that is respectful of the environment, as well as livelihoods that are nevertheless considered among the poorest living standards in the country. The current economic situation of agriculture and the processes of globalisation are affecting its viability, with the risk of losing important knowledge and resources of native crops and livestock as they are not competitive with modern energy-intensive and not necessarily environmentally friendly systems.