Incorporating Climate Change in Planning and Management of Water Resources Projects

摘要

LClimate change is arguably manifesting in many parts of the world as increases in atmospheric temperature, reduction in precipitation amounts, rise in sea-level, and more extreme weather events such as floods, droughts, and tropical cyclones. Water resources projects are susceptible to climate change in many different ways. On the supply side, there are both quantity and quality implications-for instance in a dam project, increased atmospheric temperature would reduce storage due to higher evaporation loss and could accelerate toxic plant growth deteriorating water quality. On the demand side, higher temperatures are likely to augment demand for irrigation water for crops for example and tend to increase domestic water usage. From an operation and management perspective, a change in operation policy may be warranted to deal with increased variability in weather pattern. From a socioeconomic viewpoint, climate change can have profound consequences such as population migration and changes in cultural practices affecting spatial and temporal distribution of demand for water. Under these circumstances, it is imperative that a water resources project planning and management process incorporate climate change as one of the factors. The implementation process is difficult because of uncertainty in climate forecasts, uncertainty of the efficacy of adaptive measures, lack of resources in areas where it is needed most, and lack of political will in nations who are most capable.