Water And Climate Change Adaptation In Transboundary Basins

The publication intends to demonstrate and illustrate important steps and lessons learned to take into account when developing a climate change adaptation strategy for water management in the basin or transboundary context. It aims to compile, analyse, publish and disseminate lessons learned and good practices on water and adaptation to climate change in transboundary basins. It includes lessons learnt and good practices from the programme of pilot projects under the UNECE Convention on the Protection and Use of Tranbsboundary Watercourses and International Lakes implemented since 2010 in cooperation with partner organizations such as OSCE and UNDP in the framework of the Environment and Security Initiative. It also includes lessons and examples from numerous other organizations working on water and climate change in transboundary basins, such as the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the Global Water Partnership and many others.

Climate change has an impact on the ability of transboundary water management institutions to deliver on their respective mandates. The starting point for this book is that actors within transboundary water management institutions develop responses to the climate change debate, as distinct from the physical phenomenon of climate change. Actors respond to this debate broadly in three distinct ways – adapt, resist (as in avoiding the issue) and subvert (as in using the debate to fulfil their own agenda). The book charts approaches which have been taken over the past two decades to promote more effective water management institutions, covering issues of conflict, cooperation, power and law. A new framework for a better understanding of the interaction between transboundary water management institutional resilience and global change is developed through analysis of the way these institutions respond to the climate change debate. This framework is applied to six river case studies from Africa, Asia and the Middle East (Ganges-Brahmaputra, Jordan, Mekong, Niger, Nile, Orange-Senqu) from which learning conclusions and policy recommendations are developed.

Most large river basins in the world are transboundary. Experience with such basins emphasizes the urgent need for more efficient transnational water management. This book details recent initiatives undertaken in the Meuse basin (North-West Europe) to develop a transnational adaptation strategy to deal with the impact of climate change. In the 21st century, floods in the Meuse basin are expected to become more intense and more frequent, while summers will be hotter and drier. The transnational adaptation strategy combines scientific research to fill important gaps in knowledge, innovative natural and structural water retention measures, and enhanced (transnational) crisis management. As a scientific basis for this adaptation strategy, common climate and hydrological scenarios have been developed, as well as more uniform methods for transnational flood risk assessment and mapping. The contributions in Transboundary Water Management in a Changing Climate were presented at the final conference of the European project AMICE (Sedan, France, March 2013). They demonstrate that the development of a vision at the level of the river basin, rather than within the national or regional boundaries, faces many practical challenges but offers unique opportunities for adaptation. Covering a wide range of topics, from the latest advances in climate and hydrological research to practical implementation of adaptation measures and communication issues, Transboundary Water Management in a Changing Climate offers a genuine bridge between research and practice, and also reports on similar developments in other river basins.

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.

The majority of disasters are water-related with the flow of freshwater mostly occurring in transboundary basins. This guide supports the implementation of the Sendai Framework. It aims to raise awareness on the importance of river basin management and transboundary cooperation in Disaster Risk Reduction, while taking into account climate change adaptation. It provides information on steps that governments can take to harness the values of river basin management and transboundary cooperation together with good practices and lessons learned in this field.

This publication sets out the challenge for freshwater in a changing climate and provides policy guidance on how to navigate this new "waterscape". It examines the range and complexity of possible changes in the water cycle and the challenges of making practical, on-site adaptation decisions for water. It offers policymakers a risk-based framework and guidance to "know", "cap" and "manage" water risks in order to provide flexibility and improve decisions despite the lack of reliable predictions. It draws insights from a stock take of current policy efforts to adapt water systems across all 34 member countries and the European Union, including water-related aspects of National Adaptation Plans and Strategies, specific policy measures, and financing programmes. Finally, the report examines the use of economic instruments to promote adaptation (e.g. insurance schemes, water markets and banks, water pricing), incentives for ‘green’ infrastructure and ecosystem-based approaches, and financing issues.