Lima, December 5 (XINHUA-RHC)-- The melting of glaciers in the Andes Mountains is a threat to the population of Andean countries, including Bolivia and Peru, said Nilda Rojas, head of the National Council of Ayllus and Markas of Qullasuyu (CONAMAQ), on Thursday.

"Our glaciers are melting and this has consequences," Rojas said in an interview on the fourth day of the COP20 or the 20th session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), held in Lima, Peru.

The indigenous leader confirmed the reports made by experts of the U.S. scientific and educational institution National Geographic Society. The National Geographic Society warned about the vulnerability of the Andean countries over the effects of climate change, especially countries such as Bolivia, Peru and Chile, which have high snow-covered mountains and tropical weather.

Rojas said these glaciers have supplied water to the Andean people for thousands of years, but because of global warming, these water sources are drying out.

According to a report issued by the Center for Ecology and Andean People (CEPA), the glacier of Sajama might completely disappear in the next 20 years, an irreversible process of the Earth's global warming. The Sajama glacier is located in the Sajama National Park, in Bolivia's Oruro province. Sajama is the largest mountain in Bolivia, which is 6,542 meters above sea level.