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Climate Change in Contrasting River Basins
Adaptation Strategies for Water, Food and Environment
"...It is important for water-sector policy makers, planners and managers to take into account the possible impacts of climate change on the systems they are managing. In order to do so effectively they will need appropriate tools and methods to enable them to model the potential impacts of climate change and to test appropriate adaptation options. This book describes one such method called the Adaptation Methodology for River Basins (AMR). The book also focuses on alleviating impacts for food security and environmental values, with special attention to hydrological and food modelling...." Quote from Foreword. The book was edited by: JCJH Aerts and P Droogers, and was published by CABI Publishing.
The book is best seen as a handbook for regional water management in its efforts to develop and evaluate adaptation strategies which respond to climate change and variability. The several contributors to the book address a number of river basins in the form of case studies. These include:
Mekong - South-east Asia;
Rhine - Western Europe;
Sacramento - USA;
Syr Darya - Central Asia;
Volta - Ghana;
Walawe - Sri Lanka;
and Zayandeh - Iran.
As the book points out, adaptation is not a new strategy. Throughout history people have adapted to changing or extreme climate conditions. It is possible to learn from those early experiences, as well as what is happening around the world today.
Chapter headings of the book include:
- Adaptation for Regional Water Management. This section was written by the editors and sets out the principle arguments for the adaptation method.;
- How Much water will be available for irrigation in the future? The Syr Darya Basin (Central Asia);
- Maintaining Sustainable Agriculture under Climate Change: Zayandeh Rud Basin (Iran);
- Increasing Climate Variability in the Rhine Basin: Business as Usual?;
- Will We Produce Sufficient Food Under Climate Change? Mekong Basin (SE Asia);
- Can We Maintain Food Production Without Losing Hydropower? The Volta Basin (West Africa);
- Will There be Sufficient Water Under Internal and External Changes? Walawe Basin (Sri Lanka);
- How Can We Sustain Agriculture and Ecosystems? The Sacramento Basin (California);
- Food Demand and Production: a Global and Regional Perspective;
- Adaptation to Climate Change: a Research Agenda for the Future;
- Evaluating Downscaling methods for preparing Global Circulation Model (GCM) Data for Hydrological Impact Models;
- Adaptation Strategies to Climate Change to Sustain Food Security;
- Water for the Environment: Exploring Adaptations to Climate Change in River Basins.
Each case study in the book includes an introductory geography and hydrology. It also describes the current agricultural uses of the land at issue. Various scenarios as to how climate change is likely to, or could possibly, affect the land are also presented - particularly in terms of precipitation. In most cases temperature change also affects the ability of the land to support certain crops. The impacts are explored in terms of: hydrology, environment, industry and food security. Each chapter then examines a range of adaptation strategies including: institutional arrangements, land use modification, other structural and non-structural changes. These are then evaluated, cost benefits explored and overall conclusions drawn.
Each chapter contains useful tables and graphs mainly illustrating precipitation and temperature change patterns, and water inflows. Other graphics also depict the way land is allocated for agricultural use depending on height above sea level, and other variables, and how these uses might change with climate change.
Other things. There is a list of references at the end of each chapter. The hard cover book runs to 260 pages and has a basic index.
I am not an expert in River basin hydrology, nor in climate change, however I would recommend this book to any water catchment policy analyst and adviser - whether working in developing world or first world countries - considering future issues. The writing and summary is spare, and contains useful perspectives from round the world. It is not a dry theoretical book. It raises questions and issues well, in my opinion, and is a constructive contribution to the significant but cloudy issue of climate change and land use.
Climate Change in Contrasting River Basins was published in 2004 by CABI Publishing.
The isbn is 0-85199-835-6 (hard cover, alk. paper).
Email: cabi@cabi.org
Website: www.cabi-publishing.org
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