Globally, the effects of climate change are beginning to be felt with rising temperatures, droughts, and heatwaves as well as more frequent and severe storm events impacting water quantity and water quality. As such, water managers at all levels of governance, from the city to transboundary river basin level, need to ensure communities are resilient to water scarcity pressures as well as water excesses, all the while ensuring the natural system and its associated ecosystem services are protected and enhanced.
In this context, a community that is resilient to climatic extremes is one that is reflective (learns from experiences), robust (people and infrastructure can withstand the impacts of extreme conditions), forward-thinking (plans are made to ensure systems function in extreme conditions), flexible (systems and plans can change), inclusive (all stakeholders are involved in planning), and integrated (people, systems, decisions, investments, etc. are mutually supportive of common goals).
There is, however, no single action or strategy that any governmentâcity, state, nation, or transboundary organisationâcan implement to ensure a community is resilient to climate change-related extreme weather events while protecting the natural system. Instead, climate resilient water resources management requires integrated, forward-thinking policies that not only are adaptable to changing climatic conditions but also seek to maximise economic and social welfare in an equitable manner while ensuring the health of ecosystems.
Nonetheless, there is a lack of knowledge on how these integrated, forward-thinking adaptable policies can be developed at various scales to ensure communities are resilient to climate change while maintaining the health of the natural environment. This book, Climate Resilient Water Resources Management, addresses how various levels of government in different geographical locations, with varying climates, incomes, and lifestyles, have implemented a variety of policies and technologies to ensure communities are resilient to climatic risks, all the while preserving and enhancing ecosystem health.
In particular, Climate Resilient Water Resources Management focuses on how a variety of policies and technologies including alternative water supply technologies that reduce pressures on current supplies, demand management tools to encourage the efficient use of scarce supplies, the reuse of wastewater, and transformative transboundary river basin management initiatives can help ensure communities are resilient to water-related climatic extremes, while at the same time protecting and enhancing the natural system that human health, social equity, and economic growth depend on.
The bookâs chapter synopsis is as follows:
Chapter 1 provides an introduction.
Chapter 2 focuses specifically on water and sanitation resiliency ideas that can be used to improve health outcomes.
Chapter 3 discusses building resilience to climate change and ensuring sustainable development in general and in the context of water resources management.
Chapter 4 surveys the variety of technologies implemented around the world to enhance resilience to water scarcity.
Chapter 5 reviews the various demand management tools available for populations to be resilient to water scarcity risks.
Chapter 6 argues why Southern Africa requires more than an adaptation strategy to build climate resilient floodplains.
Chapter 7 discusses how current transboundary waters governance frameworks should be transformed to embrace the uncertainty of climate change.
Chapter 8 discusses the conclusions of the book.
Introduction
The earthâs climate has significantly increased in the last couple of decades. In the past 1400 years, the 30-year period between 1983 and 2013 had the highest average temperature increase (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [IPCC], 2014). Combined land and ocean surface temperature data confirmed that between 1880 and 2012, the temperature has increased by 0.85°C (with a range of 0.65°Câ1.06°C) (IPCC, 2014). These changes have been primarily due to ocean warming, which has absorbed 90% of accumulated energy between 1971 and 2010 (IPCC, 2014). Ocean warming occurs near the top 7 meters of water, which has increased by 0.11°C (IPCC, 2014). Precipitation rates have also changedâhigh salinity occurs in areas with high evaporation rates (e.g. ocean surface), while low salinity occurs in other areas that experience higher levels of precipitation, resulting in more freshwater (e.g. brackish water). Another measurable change is through ocean uptake of carbon dioxide (CO2), which causes ocean acidification. These changes are confirmed by lower pH levels in the ocean surface water, which have decreased by 0.1 pH and increased in 26% acidity (measured as hydrogen ion concentration) (IPCC, 2014). More obvious effects of climate change are visually available with melting glaciers, diminished snow cover, Arctic sea ice decreased each consecutive season, and sea-level rise (IPCC, 2014).
These changes can affect people worldwide. While many populations suffer from outcomes, climate change poses the most significant threat to vulnerable populations. Individuals living in low- or middle-income countries are more likely to be affected, due to historical low levels of food supply, poor access to improved sanitation and potable water, inadequate countrywide efforts to mitigate and adapt, and large populations living on coastal regions. People living in low- and middle-income countries are also more affected by climate change outcomes because of fragile health infrastructure and the poor ability of government policymakers to respond and adapt to changes in resulting health and disease patterns (Skolnik, 2016). These populations are then further segmented into risks based on ages and where they live. For example, children and aging adults are at risk for morbidity and mortality due to diarrheal diseases and heat-related conditions (Costello, 2009). Another example occurs because of living location; urban areas are more exposed to air pollution and rising temperatures (e.g. asthma and heat exhaustion), while rural areas will be more affected by weather pattern changes and agricultural losses (World Health Organization, 2014).
Climate Change and Water
Climate change affects the environment . As the atmosphere warms, hydrological cycles are altered, which results in unprecedented amounts of precipitation, increased atmospheric water vapor, reduced snow cover, ice melting, and changes in soil moisture and runoff (EPA, 2017). More precipitation will affect watersheds as well as aquatic and marine environments (EPA, 2017). Shifts will occur in water storage from decreased amounts in mountain glaciers and Northern Hemisphere snow-covered areas to increased amounts over land in high northern latitudes (Bates, Kundzewicz, Wu, & Palutikof, 2008). Climate models project future trends concurrent to research, suggesting increases in high latitudes and parts of the tropics and decreased water amounts in subtropical and lower midlatitude regions (Bates et al., 2008). Floods and droughts will likely ensue. Projections suggest that flood frequency will increase in Southeast Asia, Peninsular India, Eastern Africa, and the northern half of the Andes (Hirabayashi et al., 2013). Major areas affected by drought include the Mediterranean Basin, Western United States, Southern Africa, and Northeastern Brazil (Bates et al.,...
