Building resilience in managing fresh water Fred Boltz, Ph.D. COP18 Mountain Day

building resilience in managing fresh water

Fred Boltz, Ph.D.COP18 Mountain Day

climate adaptation is most urgently about

fresh watersecurit

y

rapid climate changein the world’s water

towers

Nature 2008

degradationof freshwater

ecosystems

fragmentation2/3 of large river

systems moderately or highly fragmented by

dams and reservoirs

Dave Meko, Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research, University of Arizona.

1890–1922most infrastructure and water resource management has been designed for a single climate

most infrastructure and water resource management has been designed for a single climate

climate-infrastructure mismatches

climate-climate-infrastructure infrastructure mismatchesmismatches

infrastructure has a infrastructure has a climate-relevant lifetimeclimate-relevant lifetime

if designed for a narrow if designed for a narrow operational window, it is operational window, it is likely to lose efficiencylikely to lose efficiency

adaptability, multiple adaptability, multiple climate futures must be climate futures must be consideredconsidered

basin-wide threats to food security

energy securitythreats to

Ethiopia: one drought lowered growth rates over a

12-year period by 10%; droughts normally happen every 3 to 5 years

Sadoff & Muller 2009

threats to economies

resilience under climate-driven environmental change ?

A change in “mean” climate

State-level or stepwise climate change

tipping point

tipping point

A change in climate variability

drought

floodresilience

extremeevent

extremeevent

resilience

facilitating change

Repre

sente

d in G

CM

sC

hanges

invari

abili

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ajo

r ch

anges

from

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from LeQuesne, Matthews, et al., 2010, Flowing Forward. Washington, DC: World Bank. FlowingForward.org

conserving naturalecosystems is key tofreshwater resilience

Timing

connectivity and environmental flows

resilient biodiversit

y

•designed and managed flexibly, for shifting ecological and economic conditions

•ecologically viable over an operational lifetime (or longer)

building resilience into infrastructure

building (human) resilience in fresh water management• integrate ecosystems into adaptation

• smart development: design new infrastructure to maintain environmental flows and ecosystem connectivity

• approach vulnerability assessment and reduction as a continuous, adaptive process: -- for ecosystems, infrastructure, and institutions

enabling dynamic operational decisions, policies and investments• AGWA aims to integrate

disciplines to facilitate the adoption of climate-adaptive best practices

• WCC mainstreams science and management guidance into global policies for effective freshwater adaptation

The Alliance for Global Water AdaptationDevelopment banks and capacity-building groups

The World Bank (co-chair) The Asian Development Bank, European Investment Bank, KfW, the Inter-American Development Bank, GiZ, the Cooperative Programme on Water and Climate

Non-governmental OrganizationsConservation International (co-chair), The Delta Alliance, International

Water Association, the Swedish Environmental Institute (IVL), the Global Water Partnership, Deltares, Environmental Law Institute (ELI), Stockholm Environmental Institute (SEI), Organization for European Cooperation and Development (OECD), Stockholm International Water Institute, Wetlands International, IUCN, The Nature Conservancy, ICIMOD, WWF, Water & Climate Coalition

Government AgenciesCONAGUA, Seattle Public Utilities, US State department, NOAA, US Army

Corps of Engineers, UN Water, UN Habitat, UNECE, Water Utilities Climate Alliance, WMO

Private SectorCeres, UNEP FI, World Business Council for Sustainable Development