Climate Resilient Water Resources Management

The effects of climate change are beginning to impact water quantity and water quality across the globe. However, there is no single action or strategy that any government can implement to ensure a community is resilient to climate change-related extreme weather events while also protecting the natural system. Instead, Robert Brears argues, climate resilient water resources management requires integrated, forward-thinking policies that are not only adaptable to changing climatic conditions but also seek to maximise economic and social welfare in an equitable manner while ensuring the continued health of their ecosystems. This book addresses how several 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, and how these policies preserve and enhance the natural system and its associated ecosystem’s health.

This book entitled Integrated Resilient Water Resources Management attempts to address the main aspects of integrated management of water resources, climate change and sustainable development in Brazil in recent decades. The book consists of three parts, namely: i) Integrated Resilient Water Resources Management; ii) Climate Resilience in Water Resources and iii) Sustainability in Water Resources.It is a fact that we are living in an era of great uncertainties related to the climate and that we need tools for climate-resilient water management approaches. In recent decades, climate change is accelerating and disrupting the economies of many countries on a global scale and affecting livelihoods, especially through the impact on water and water-related risks. In this sense, it is imperative to incorporate Climate Risks in Decision Making in the integrated resilient water resources management.Thus, the first part of the book (chapter 1 and 2) presents a brief analysis of the current model of integrated water resources management in Brazil, with its advances and implementation problems, in order to present proposals for its improvement. The current water resources management model is discussed with an emphasis on aspects of regulation and social control (seeking efficiency and improving quality and rescuing the public sphere as an instrument for exercising citizenship, among other aspects). We sought to analyze the theme from a theoretical-historical approach to regulation (water management models implemented in Brazil and the genesis of regulatory agencies) and participatory management of water resources, involving the relationship of the State and the public sphere, in especially within river basin committees and water agencies....Therefore, policies related to the management of water resources, the environment and climate change in Brazil are analyzed in a certain way.The Editor.

ACT (Action on Climate Today) is an initiative funded with UK aid from the UK government and managed by Oxford Policy Management. ACT brings together two UK Department for International Development programmes: the Climate Proofing Growth and Development programme and the Climate Change Innovation Programme

- Water resources management should be assessed under climate change conditions, as historic data cannot replicate future climatic conditions. - Climate change impacts on water resources are bound to affect all water uses, i.e., irrigated agriculture, domestic and industrial water supply, hydropower generation, and environmental flow (of streams and rivers) and water level (of lakes). - Bottom-up approaches, i.e., the forcing of hydrologic simulation models with climate change models’ outputs, are the most common engineering practices and considered as climate-resilient water management approaches. - Hydrologic simulations forced by climate change scenarios derived from regional climate models (RCMs) can provide accurate assessments of the future water regime at basin scales. - Irrigated agriculture requires special attention as it is the principal water consumer and alterations of both precipitation and temperature patterns will directly affect agriculture yields and incomes. - Integrated water resources management (IWRM) requires multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary approaches, with climate change to be an emerging cornerstone in the IWRM concept.

The impacts of human-induced climate change are largely mediated by water, such as alterations in precipitation and glacial melt patterns, variations in river flow, increased occurrence of droughts and floods, and sea level rise in densely populated coastal areas. Such phenomena impact both urban and rural communities in developed, emerging, and developing countries. Taking a systems approach, this book analyzes evidence from 26 countries and identifies common barriers and bridges for local adaptation to climate change through water resources management. It includes a global set of case studies from places experiencing increased environmental and social pressure due to population growth, development and migration, including in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, North and South America. All chapters consider the crosscutting themes of adaptive capacity, equity, and sustainability. These point to resilient water allocation policies and practices that are capable of protecting social and environmental interests, whilst ensuring the efficient use of an often-scarce resource.

This book synthesizes current knowledge and understanding of management and governance in the context of water resilience; advances theory through synthesis of research and experiences from a variety of disciplinary perspectives. The book highlights the implications of theory and experience for innovation in practice and policy; and it explores frontiers and future research. The book further addresses the need for a consolidated, interdisciplinary approach to the theoretical advances and practical implications of water resilience for academics, resource managers, aid organizations, policy makers and citizens.

This report reviews the main linkages between climate change, water and agriculture as a means to identifying and discussing adaptation strategies for better use and conservation of water resources.

This book puts the spotlight on Southern Africa, presenting a cutting-edge concept never previously explored in the context of climate change and putting forward arguments for regional integration and cooperation. The Climate Resilient Infrastructure Development Facility (CRIDF) is the new water infrastructure program of the UK Department for International Development (DFID) for Southern Africa. The CRIDF promotes the establishment of small to medium-scale infrastructure across the Southern African Development Community (SADC) through technical assistance aimed at developing sustainable pro-poor projects, while also facilitating access to the financial resources needed to deliver said infrastructure. Further, it focuses on regional water resource management goals and basin plans, as well as on building climate resilience for the beneficiary communities. The Facility’s Virtual Water and Nexus Project works to improve regional peace dividends by translating the Nexus concept into national and regional policies; it ultimately promotes sovereign security through greater regional integration across the water, food and energy sectors, while taking into account potential benefits in connection with carbon sequestration and emission mitigation.