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8/2/2019 Water and Climate Change in The Americas
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WATER
AND CLIMATECHANGE
ADAPTATIONIN THE
AMERICAS
SOLUTIONS
FROM THE REGIONAL POLICY
DIALOG (RPD)
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WATERAND CLIMATE
CHANGEADAPTATIONIN THEAMERICASSOLUTIONSFROM THE REGIONAL POLICYDIALOG (RPD)
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CONCEPTUAL DEvELOPMENTRomán Gómez (un-habitat)
Colin Herron (conagua)
Mario López Pérez (conagua)
Fernando Miralles-Wilhelm (idb)
Frederik Pischke(independent consultant)
DISCLAIMERThe organizations participating in the Regional Policy Dialog on Water and Climate Change Adaptation in the Americas have
contributed to co-produce this document. As such, the content included does not necessarily reect the ofcial position o
these organizations.
Moreover, the views expressed through the content o this document represent an eort by the editors and authors tosynthesize the most relevant aspects o the debate generated during the Regional Policy Dialog.
Distribution ree o charge. Sale prohibited. Its partial or complete reproduction is authorized, but it is requested to mention
the original document, inorm the rpd(contacto@aguaycambioclimatico.org), and cite the document as ollows: Regional
Policy Dialog on Water and Climate Change Adaptation in the Americas (rpd),2012“Water and Climate Change Adaptation
in the Americas; Solutions rom the Regional Policy Dialog (rpd)”.
AUTHORS, PEER REvIEWERS,TRANSLATORS AND EDITORSVictor Arroyo
Maureen Ballestero Vargas
Eugenio Barrios Ordoñez
Felipe Carazo
Joaquim Guedes Corrêa Gondim Filho
Gerald Corzo
Pablo Domínguez
Ana Paula Fioreze
Fabiola Garduño
Román Gómez
Colin Herron
Rosalva Landa
Rosa María Mancini
Fernando Miralles-Wilhelm
Jorge Mora Portuguez
David Olvera
Ana Maria Panarelli
Marta Claudia Pérez de Madrid
José Carlos Pons Ballesteros
Geroncio Rocha
Pamela Alejandra Rojas Hernández
Bruna Craveiro de Sá e Mendonça
Claudia Olivia Sánchez PérezRon Sawyer
Nathalie Seguin Tovar
Diana Siller
Márcia Regina Silva C erqueira Coimbra
Fabiola Tábora
Florian Schmitt
EDITORIAL DEvELOPMENT
COORDINATORFrederik Pischke
EDITORIAL DESIGNred basic color
María Calderón
Viviane Calvo
Jorge Brozon
Raael Rodríguez
PHOTOGRAPHY
conagua Archive
drp Archive
Pim Schalkwijk Archive
Calderwood Archive
EDITORIALCOORDINATORSwater advisorycouncil, a.c.
Eduardo Vázquez
Beatriz Martínez
Verónica Martí nez
we would like to thank fundación mexicana para la educación ambiental, a.c.(mexican foundationfor environmental education, civil society organization) and photographer michael calderwoodfor providing the pictures to ilustrate pages 54, 86, 89, 104, 107 and 126 of this publication.
COMMENTSEnrique Aguilar
Mónica Arteaga Cabrera
Kiran Bhatt
Adan Carro de la Fuente
Sarah Davidson
David Ellison
Andrei Jouravlev
Ricardo Krauskop NetoMario López Pérez
Sergio Lozano Torres
Griselda Medina Laguna
Emma del Carmen Mercado Molina
Rodrigo Meza
Christopher Scott
Raquel Vargas Lara
Ricardo Alaín Vil lón Bracamonte
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WATERAND CLIMATE
CHANGEADAPTATIONIN THEAMERICASSOLUTIONSFROM THE REGIONAL POLICYDIALOG (RPD)
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THE WAY AHEAD 124
ACRONYMS 128
GLOSSARY OF TERMS 129
REFERENCES 130
TAbLE OF CONTENTS ACkNOWLEDGEMENTS 7
ExECUTIvE SUMMARY 8
INTRODUCTION 22
CHAPTER 1 34CLIMATE SERvICES IN THE AMERICAS:infrastructure and information for adaptation to climate change
CHAPTER 2 58ECOSYSTEM SERvICESin the adaptive management of water resources
CHAPTER 3 74INTEGRATED WATER RESOURCES MANAGEMENT
CHAPTER 4 92WATER-bASED ADAPTATION TO CLIMATE CHANGEin cities
CHAPTER 5 108EFFECTIvE PARTICIPATION OF CIvIL SOCIETY,knowledge sharing, equity and poverty reduction to face the challenge ofwater based climate change adaptation
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ACkNOWLEDGEMENTS
This publication, produced in parallel in English and Spanish, is a product o the Regiona
Policy Dialog (rpd) on Water and Climate Change Adaptation in the Americas, which
currently has 21 institutional members, in alphabetical order: the American Society o Civi
Engineers (asce), Central American Commission or Environment and Development (ccad)
the Conerence o Ibero-American Water Directors (codia), Conservation International (ci)
the femsa Foundation, the Freshwater Action Network or Central America (fanca), th
Freshwater Action Network or Mexico (fanmex), the Global Water Partnership (gwp)
Secretariat or Environment o the State o São Paulo (sma), the Inter-American Developmen
Bank (idb), the International Union or the Conservation o Nature (iucn), the NationaWater Agency o Brazil (ana), the Mexican Institute o Water Technology (imta), the Nationa
Water Commission o Mexico (conagua), the National Water Ministry o Ecuador (sena
gua), The Nature Conservancy (tnc), the United Nations Human Settlements Programm
(un-habitat), the Water Advisory Council (cca), the Water Center or Latin America and th
Caribbean at the Tecnológico de Monterrey, the World Bank (wb), and the World Wildlie
Fund (wwf). When these organizations are reerred to in this document, it will be by their
acronym or initials.
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ExECUTIvESUMMARY
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No single resource is more integral to the health, welare, and prosperity o human
communities than water. It is increasingly recognized that water is the primary
means through which climate change impacts upon societies and the environment.
Rather than being viewed as a sector, water resources are the medium through which
climate change directly impacts ood security, health, energy generation, develop-
ment planning and the protection o ecosystems and biodiversity. At the same time
water is critical or climate change mitigation, as many eorts to reduce carbonemissions rely on water availability.
Within the ramework o the Regional Policy Dialog (rpd), more than 20 organiza-
tions in the Americas have come together to increase the technical understanding
and knowledge o how to best adapt to climate change, establishing a platorm to
share water-based adaptation experiences and honing this perspective down into a
series o messages that reach outside the “water box”1. Ater presenting nine public
policy recommendations on water and climate change adaptation in the previous
document, this Solutions Document presents the continuation o this eort.
By building upon these nine recommendations and detailing how they are beingimplemented, this document aims to highlight what steps the Americas region is
taking in practice to advance with the implementation o adaptation measures in the
water domain. The progress being made is analyzed in this Solutions Document
through three crosscutting aspects: (i) Good governance and institutional arrange-
ments, (ii) fnancing water or all, and (iii) enabling environments with a ocus on
strengthen capacities to increase resilience 2 and reduce vulnerability.
1. The term “water box” describes the realm in which water management takes place. The 3rd United Nations World Water De-
velopment Report (wwap, 2009) highlights that decisions determining water resources use are not made by water managers
alone. Getting out o the “Water Box” means to strengthen the interaction in the decision-making process between resource
managers and government, civil society and business – the actors determining the socio-economic context in which water is
managed.
2. Resilience can be defned as the capacity o a system to adjust and recover rom stress and change.
The Regional Policy Dialog (DRP)is designed to increase knowledgeand technical understanding on howto best adapt to climate change andto support the formulation of publicpolicy. This Solutions Document showshow the RPD’s nine public policyrecommendations are being appliedin the Americas.
It is important to recognize the imminence
and importance of the impacts of climate
change on water resources.
PUbLIC POLICY RECOMMENDATION 1
OF THE RPD
Good goernance –Financing – Enaling enironmentCross-cutting aspects in the overallanalysis of progress in adapting toclimate change.
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GOOD GOvERNANCE
The impacts o climate change are still uncertain, particularly at a level that can directly
inorm decision makers. It is thereore vital to ocus on improved hydro-meteorological
monitoring systems, downscaled projections, in the use and application o methods to eval-
uate the vulnerability in dierent socio-economic sectors and ecological systems, scenario
development and economic assessment methods such as cost-beneft analysis. These inputsare needed at an appropriate geographical scale to support policy decisions and legal rame-
works that take long-term development challenges into account and at the same time
remains exible to adapt to climate variability.
SOLUTIONthe national climate change strategy of honduras (encc)
aims to ensure that the Honduran society, economy and territory have a low
vulnerability to the impacts o climate change. It is designed to strengthen the
current public policy ramework, incorporate appropriate and timely strategies
and measures aimed at reducing socio-environmental and economic vulnera-
bility and at improving the resilience o the sectors and regions most exposed
to climate threats.
More on this solution in chapter 3 of the document and www.aguaaaa.org
Many institutions are involved in managing water resources. Actors in the agricultural,
fnance, health and education sectors play an important role alongside the water authorities
at the national, regional and local levels. Water as an essential part o many policy spheresthus also requires that institutions collaborate and ollow a common vision. Such a common
vision on water management is necessary to develop socially desirable, environmentally and
economically viable as well as practically achievable solutions.
In order to achieve broad based consensus to ensure that policy decisions taken are success-
ully implemented, citizen participation that genuinely takes on board the opinions and
concerns o all parts o society and is sensitive to gender issues is essential. Involving and
giving a strong voice to those that are most vulnerable to climate change, including women,
indigenous people and marginalized sectors o society, is always a challenge in participatory
processes, but is nonetheless critical. The principles o good governance imply that adapta-
tion schemes be consensus oriented, participatory, eective and e icient, accountable,
transparent, exible, equitable and inclusive as well as ollowing the rule o law. More than a
long list o laudable goals, these are basic principles that need to be taken seriously i legiti-
mate processes and trusted institutions that can lead to eective adaptation measures are to
be established.
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FINANCING
Additional inancing to increase adaptation to climate change is urgently needed.
Investments in improving water resources management are by defnition investments in
climate change adaptation. But it is not solely a question o more fnancing, but also making
optimal use o existing fnancial resources, particularly in times o fnancial austerity. In
order to access unds, water-related institutions and their implementing capacity need to bestrengthened. Financing has been a bottleneck in the past or water managers, and i this
situation remains unresolved, it will urther debilitate societies’ uture capacity to adapt to
climate change. Instruments are needed that have the best leveraging capacity to reduce
vulnerability. One such instrument is micro-fnance, which has proven to be eective in
reaching the most vulnerable segments o society by providing a tool to fght poverty by
building businesses that are highly tailored to the opportunities that present themselves at
the local level. Flexible instruments can provide a push to devise smart, adaptive approaches.
Complementarities o measures that have positive impacts or actors in many felds, such as
improved inormation systems to support decision-making rom the arm level to the board
room, are important to advance or inancing. Water-based climate change adaptation
measures thereore need to be inormed by current development challenges and maintain a
long-term view or their sustainability in the uture, ocusing not only on national concerns
but also on transboundary challenges.
SOLUTIONthe water fund “water for life and sustainability” in the elcauca valley, colombia was created to increase the natural vegetation co-
ver in order to maintain the environmental services or the conservation o spe-
cies, communities’ household consumption, businesses in urban areas and in the
countryside to irrigate crops, aiming to guide investments to address the areas o
greatest vulnerability to climate change and to those generating the greatest eco-
nomic benefts.
More on this solution in chapter 2 of the document and www.aguaaaa.org
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ENAbLING ENvIRONMENT
An appropriate implementation o Integrated Water Resources Management
(iwrm) can provide an enabling environment, in which stakeholders with a variety
o interests can come together to plan site-specifc adaptation measures. That is the
water community’s contribution to the climate change community. Social and insti-
tutional resilience to climate change requires mechanisms, which secure equity andefciency in the use o water and increase the institutional and human capacity to
conront adverse situations. Inormation generation and circulation, in order to
strengthen knowledge help to reduce vulnerability. A well-inormed society with
knowledge and awareness o the impacts o climate change is an important element
to improve water management and through it adapt to climate change.
Adaptation to climate change shouldbe incorporated as a key strategicelement in Integrated Water ResourcesManagement.PUbLIC POLICY RECOMMENDATION 2
OF THE RPD
SOLUTIONintegrated regional water management in california
provides a critical ramework or actions to address the uncertainties presented by
climate change, as well as other risks to Caliornia’s water uture. Climate change
has been included in the most recent guidelines and proposal solicitation packages
or the grant programme, addressing both adaptation to climate change andghg
emissions when selecting project alternatives.
More on this solution in chapter 3 of the document and www.aguaaaa.org
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Water resources infrastructureneeds to be developed and adaptedto respond to climate change impactsand to the sources of nancing
available for this purpose.PUbLIC POLICY RECOMMENDATION 7
OF THE RPD
INFRASTRUCTURE AND INFORMATIONFOR ADAPTATION
A variable and changing climate where uncertainties exist regarding its uture
extremes requires an increased quantity and quality as well as accessibility o inor-
mation to support planning and decision-making processes. A variable climate
where uncertainties exist regarding its uture extremes requires inrastructure thatcan take changing conditions into account. One o the most eective resources
humanity has always relied on to ace the eects o weather and climate is natural
inrastructure, which can, or example, unction as water storage, water fltration
and ood plains. Built inrastructure, on the other hand, can be most eective i
developed in stages. The challenge or built inrastructure is to base its conception,
design and construction on preserving and enhancing the hydrological cycle and
ecosystem services.
New advances in science and technology have provided higher reliability in climate
inormation, more resilient inrastructure and better insights into managing climate
risks and opportunities. New practices and tai lored climate inormation andadapted inrastructure – Climate Services – would be able to accelerate and
strengthen adaptation eorts by meeting the growing demands or useul and usable
climate inormation. In the Americas, a vision or the development and implemen-
tation o climate services has been generated to integrate climate inormation into
decision-making in socio-economic sectors, through an eective dialogue between
providers and users on the range, timing, quality, content and delivery ormat o
climate products and services. Developing and eectively deploying climate inor-
mation and climate-adapted inrastructure is an important challenge or the water
community in the Americas. An eective response to this challenge must integrate
meeting the needs o the users o such climate services and developing capacity o
the present and next generation o scientists, practitioners, managers and policy makers.
SOLUTIONsituation rooms for extreme hydrological events were created in brazil to monitor trends in the hydrological system in the country, through the
analysis o the evolution o rainall, river and reservoir levels, and other weather and
climate-related indicators. Through this network, timely inormation has been
provided on the occasions o several extreme events. Additional situation roomsand hydro-meteorological monitoring stations in various parts o the country are
being set up and areas susceptible to ooding throughout Brazil are being mapped.
More on this solution in chapter 1 of the document and www.aguaaaa.org
Hydro-climate information systemsin the region must be strengthenedso that they can be used to supporttimely and preventive climate changeadaptation measures.PUbLIC POLICY RECOMMENDATION 5
OF THE RPD
I.
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ECOSYSTEM SERvICES
The environmental challenges acing water management are well established:
Overexploitation, pollution, loss o ecosystems and biodiversity as well as impacts on
public health. A mutually reinorcing relationship exists between water manage-
ment that aims to protect ecosystems and the services ecosystems provide to increase
the benefts water provides to society. This calls or a new relationship between iwrm and the environment, one that recognizes ecosystems as the lie-sustaining provid-
ers o water, and the services water management largely depends on: storage capac-
ity, transport, improved water quality, coastal protection, and natural disaster
prevention and mitigation. Rather than perceiving ecosystems as another user o
water resources, healthy ecosystems are a undamental component o sustainable
water management.
It is important to strengthen the‘environmental dimension’ in waterresources management in the regionas a climate change adaptationmeasure.
PUbLIC POLICY RECOMMENDATION 3 OF THE RPD
The Americas are working to strengthen their social and environmental resilience as
important steps to adapt to climate change. The challenge is to achieve more with
less through demand-side management, rather than only ocusing on increasing the
supply o water. Such an approach can include measures to improve agricultural
water management, artifcial groundwater recharge, water reuse, the redistribution
o water within and among user groups, reorestation in areas o water capture,
control o leaks and reduction o water consumption in households, the pricing or
drinking water supply, wastewater treatment and use o hydrological inrastructure
among many others. It is widely recognized that these measures can only be success-
ul i designed and implemented with social participation and commitment o all
relevant authorities.
Integrating land and water management is an important part o adapting water
management to climate change. Payment or environmental services, which
provides incentives to conserve ecosystem services, is a widely discussed action,
which can generate benefts or marginalized communities.
SOLUTIONwater reserves for the environment and standard on envi-ronmental flows have been established in mexico to conserve habitats and
to establish a buer against extreme variations in availability o water, aquier
recharge and conservation o hydrological levels. Water reserves ensure among other
benefts water supply and a source o ood.
More on this solution in chapter 2of the document and www.aguaaaa.org
II.
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IWRM PROvIDES A TOOL TO CONFRONT CLIMATE CHANGE
iwrm is recognized as making a strong contribution and being the central tool to
conront the impacts o climate change. Three principal elements o iwrm justiy
this view: (i) iwrm recognizes the water cycle and its dierent users in a holistic way
and aims to ensure the participation o all stakeholders in order to arrive at an inte-
grated plan in which activities can be carried out in a balanced way. (ii) iwrm supports the building o strong institutions, which are essential to manage water
resources equitably and efciently. (iii) iwrm is an adaptive management orm that
is inherently exible to changes in water demand and supply.
Eective water resources management needs a balanced approach, necessitating
both “hard” (inrastructure) and “sot” (institutional and social) measures. Water
Security Plans are a concrete adaptation measure. They require water operators toanalyze the impact o extreme hydro-meteorological events on the supply system
and develop measures or immediate response. These plans are thus eective instru-
ments to reduce the vulnerability to the impacts o climate change, to use the
productive potential o water and limit destruction.
The region should continue theongoing process of institutionalcapacity development for water-basedadaptation to climate change.PUbLIC POLICY RECOMMENDATION 6OF THE RPD
SOLUTIONthe early warning systems in el salvador have become an example o
speed and efciency in collecting and disseminating inormation that has reduced
the local impact o hydro-meteorological extreme events on human lives. The early
warning system relies on local monitoring, eedback and excellent communication
coverage o the network o local observers.
More on this solution in chapter 3 of the document and www.aguaaaa.org
III.
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Latin America and the Caribbean is themost urbanized region in the world.With population density intensifyingthe impacts of climate change,
inter-institutional coordination, wideparticipation and foresight in planningprocesses are imperative to strengthenadaptation in cities.
SOLUTIONforest restoration strategies to reduce risk from droughtand wildfire and protect water resources in the city ofsanta fe, new mexico, usa have been implemented through the mechanical
thinning o small-diameter trees, controlled burns to reintroduce low-severity
ground fres that historically maintained orest health, and comprehensive moni-
toring to determine eects o these treatments on orest and stream habitats, plants,
animals and soils. This project secures water or city users and is supported by astrong local science-management partnership.
More on this solution in chapter 4of the document and www.aguaaaa.org
ADAPTING WATER MANAGEMENT TO CLIMATE CHANGEIN HUMAN SETTLEMENTS
Water-based adaptation to climate change throughout the Americas region needs to
take into consideration that most o its population are and will be living in cities –
projections predict that in 2050, 89% o the population o Latin America and the
Caribbean (lac) will be living in urban settlements – where the population density may well intensiy the impacts o climate change and variability. Some o the main
issues related to the development o urban settlements, such as water management,
as well as land use planning, housing development and environmental planning
have a direct impact on the capacity to successully adapt to the impacts o climate
change on water resources. Diverse experiences o collaborative planning involving
local authorities and community-based organizations exist and can guide the way
on how to develop consensus or action. Inter-institutional coordination, social
organization and oresight in planning processes are key ingredients or successul
adaptation schemes in cities. The urban poor play an important role as one o the
most vulnerable groups to the impacts o climate change.
Iv.
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SOLUTIONcommunity-led climate change adaptation in el salvador aims
to increase the levels o water infltration to prevent oods, soil degradation, crop
loss and to ensure drinking water supply or human consumption or approxima-
tely 3,500 people in 14 communities in the la Peña canton. The capacity to organize
themselves, the tenacity, the clarity o objectives, the attitude and willingness to
serve, community leadership, training to advance human capital and the use o
social capital were key to the success o poor communities in the access to andmanagement o water.
More on this solution in chapter 5of the document and www.aguaaaa.org
In the development of water-basedclimate change adaptation policies, it isimportant to explicitly consider equityand poverty alleviation measures.
PUbLIC POLICY RECOMMENDATION 4 OF THE RDP
SOCIAL MObILIzATION AND COMMUNICATION,EqUITY ISSUES AND POvERTY ALLEvIATION
The impacts o climate change across the Americas all disproportionally on those
countries, transboundary river basins and social groups least able to cope with them.
Water management measures need to be designed to reduce the vulnerability o the
population most impacted. Putting poverty alleviation at the center o water andclimate change adaptation means: (i) recognizing and incorporating the rights and
knowledge o marginal communities, including armers and indigenous people, (ii)
developing risk and vulnerability maps using an inclusive and participatory
approach, (iii) strengthening the capacities and knowledge o vulnerable communi-
ties, (iv) assessing and mitigating the social impacts o climate change, (v) relocating
settlements that were established in risk prone areas in a socially acceptable way, (vi)
linking eorts on adaptation to other areas o social development, and (vii) generat-
ing the political will to address these priorities.
It is clear that an eective and sustained process o water-based adaptation to climate
change cannot be considered the sole responsibility o governments, but requires anorganized involvement o a broad social spectrum o participation, rom the design
to the implementation and monitoring o relevant policies, in which the emphasis
needs to be placed on involving women and marginalized groups o society.
The process of water-based adaptation
to climate change oers importantchallenges in terms of socialorganization, implying the need forsustained eorts to be made toestablish eective coordination,collaboration and social participationmechanisms.PUbLIC POLICY RECOMMENDATION 8
OF THE RPD
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The RPD constitutes a fundamentalcommunication, coordination andaction tool towards a RegionalWater-Based Climate ChangeAdaptation Agenda.
The region must increase its effortsto generate knowledge and trainprofessionals on water-basedadaptation to climate change.PUbLIC POLICY RECOMMENDATION 9
OF THE RPD
FROM ACTIONS TO SOLUTIONS
It is sel-evident that, due to the complex nature o the issue at hand, there are no one-
size-fts-all solutions or adaptation to climate change. Measures implemented in
one region o the world with a certain degree o success may or may not have the
same impact in dierent environmental, social and economic conditions. However,
in the Americas, there do exist regional cooperation schemes and common back-grounds that allow an exchange o relevant experiences to be ostered in order to
enrich the common understanding o the problem. This exchange has been trans-
lated into a series o proposals or public policies, o regional, national and/or local
scope, which could be mainstreamed throughout the Americas.
At the same time as climate change constitutes a challenge or a threat or our nations,
it also provides us with a unique opportunity to strengthen our unity as neighboring
countries. In the Americas, there are numerous examples o cooperation and collab-
oration to overcome common challenges in dierent social, economic and environ-
mental aspects. In the case o water, some clear examples include the regional eorts
associated with transboundary water resources.
The challenge o adaptation to climate change constitutes a new call to unite our
eorts, leading to the drat ing o this Regional Water-Based Climate Change
Adaptation Agenda in which, based on existing capacities, the joint commitments
and the individual roles and responsibilities o governments, non-governmental,
private sector and multilateral organizations should be clearly deined. In this
agenda, cooperation and mutual support mechanisms are to be established in the
water community to reach concrete results, in specifc and realistic timerames, in
the fght against the threat o climate change. Thisrpd constitutes a undamental
communication and action tool to tackle this new challenge that the region will be
acing during the coming decades.
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IntroductIon
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IntroductIon
Water is intertwined with every aspect o human lie, and the sustainable management o
water resources is an integral part o achieving ood and energy security as well as enabling
the health and prosperity o communities. Meeting these human needs while maintaining
healthy ecosystems is a challenge that requires the input and experience rom all actors
involved in trying to sustainably solve development challenges.
It is imptnt t cniz th imminnc nd imptnc
f th impcts f climt chn n wt sucs.
PuBLIc PoLIcY rEcoMMEndAtIon 1 oF tHE rPd
Scientic evidence points to the act that global warming has a discernible eect on the
hydrological cycle through changing precipitation patterns, intensity and extremes –
droughts and foods. Changes in soil moisture and runo as well as reduced snow cover andwidespread melting o ice is becoming increasingly evident, leading to fuctuations in water
availability, both in time and space, thus also aecting river fow regimes. Higher water
temperatures along with droughts and foods also aect water quality and increase water
pollution. Sea level rise will - through the intrusion o saltwater into reshwater reservoirs -
reduce the amount o reshwater in coastal zones, where it is estimated that globally over hal
o the world’s population live, a share that is projected to grow in the uture (in the United
States o America 2000 homes have been erected in coastal areas per day since 1970) (un
oceans atlas). This has led the ipcc to conclude in its ourth Assessment Report that
“Water impacts [o climate change] are key or all sectors and regions” (ipcc, 2007). The
specic impacts depend o course on various actors, some o which are the latitude, altitude,
distance to the coast, population density and vegetation.
Global warming has a discernible eect on the hydrological cyclethrough changing precipitation patterns, intensity and extremes– droughts and oods.
Water management practices of the past, which were largely designedon previous, relatively stationary hydrological experience, will be inadequatet cp with th impcts f climt chn.
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Water management practices o the past, which were largely designed on previous, relatively
stationary hydrological experience, will be inadequate to cope with the impacts o climate
change. Even current climate variability requently exceeds the capacity o water manage-
ment instruments put in place. Adding to the challenges o climate change are population
growth and changing consumption and production patterns – pointing clearly to the act
that it is high time to improve water management.
oBjEctIvE oF tHE docuMEnt
Climate change adaptation and improved water management are two sides o the same coin
or sustainable development. Response options have been developed, not only to conrontclimate change but also to strengthen capacities towards a more sustainable development.
The present document has the objective to shed light on experiences (or “solutions”) rom
the Americas on how to reduce vulnerability – the degree o susceptibility to the impacts o
climate change. This regional position paper aims to highlight select topics and innovative
approaches, to show how actions on water are vital to other development issues and contrib-
ute to the scaling up o these practices to conront water-related development challenges.
The document aims to engage with people who are not necessarily experts on water issues,
since water is seen as a crosscutting issue – not a stand-alone sector – that can provide solu-
tions to achieve ood security, public and environmental health, poverty eradication, disas-
ter risk reduction and, o course, adaptation to climate change. At the same time it is recog-
nized that water is critical or climate change mitigation, as many eorts to reduce carbonemissions, rom managing orests to hydropower, rely heavily on water availability.
The countries in the Americas have acquired expertise to conront climate change and have
enhanced their capacities to reduce their vulnerabilities through concrete adaptation meas-
ures. Although there are clearly no one-size-ts-all solutions, this document aims to high-
light practical options rom the Americas that might potentially be replicable in other parts
o the continent.
The document is an invitation to all those whose work and lives are touched by water to
engage in devising solutions that are fexible and move the dialog to nd a balanced response
to meet the needs o society and the environment. The document does not aim to be exhaus-
tive but to put orward some options to challenge readers to contribute their own solutions
and critically engage in putting their knowledge into practice.
0.1
This dcumnt ims t hihliht pcticl ptins fmthe Americas that might potentially be replicable in otherpts f th cntinnt.
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Box 0.1 WAtEr-rELAtEd cLIMAtE cHAngE IMPActs In LAtIn AMErIcA
The eects o climate change are not evenly spread and projections depend on the model used,
varying between a 1 and 6 degree increase in temperature by the end o the 21st century. Even
greater uncertainties exist in rainall projections, which could, at their most extreme, mean adecision on whether to prepare or foods – requiring actions to improve drainage, or droughts
– requiring improved irrigation. Climate change will have serious economic consequences;
studies predict by 2025 losses in Gross Domestic Production (gdp) in the areas o agriculture,
shing, electricity and inrastructure at around7.3% or Bolivia, 4.5% in Colombia, 6.2% in
Ecuador and 4.4% in Peru (can, 2008).
In Latin America, climatic and non-climatic actors, primarily population growth, economic
dependence on agricultural production and increasing pollution, pose challenges and require
immediate action not only to adapt to climate change but also to enable long-term develop-
ment. The combination o climate change and population growth are relected in studies
based on the ipcc scenarios, which estimate the number o people living in highly water-stressed environments (i.e. having less than 1,000 m3 per capita per year) in Latin America to
increase rom an estimated 22.2 million in 1995 to34-93million by 2020 and to 101-200million
in the 2050 s (Arnell, 2004).
Latin America saw an increase in climate extremes such as droughts, foods and related disas-
ters by 2.4 times between the early 70s and the late 90s. This trend continued in the beginning
o the 21st century. A regional analysis o less than a th o the events occurring in the rst ve
years o the21st century put their economic loss at nearly usd 20 billion (Nagy et al., 2006). Sea
level has been observed in southeastern Latin America to rise at a rate o 2-3 mm per year
during the last 10-20 years. Signicant parts o the Americas are vulnerable to large-scale rain-
all anomalies due to El Niño and La Niña Southern Oscillation (enso). The intensication o theenso phenomenon is expected to have a signicant impact on the climate in the region.
The combination o increased demand or energy and droughts resulted in widespread power
outages and contributed to a reduced gdp in Brazil in 2001. Models in the distribution o
malaria, dengue and the cutaneous leishamaniasis vector point to changes in the geographical
limits o transmission (Bates et al., 2008). While higher rainall and humidity showed, or
example, a negative eect on agricultural production through the spread o ungal diseases in
Peru, it had a positive eect on productivity in the Pampas region o Argentina.
Water can provide solutions to achieve food security, public andenvironmental health, poverty eradication, disaster risk reductionnd, f cus, dpttin t climt chn.
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Box 0.2 WAtEr-rELAtEd IMPActs oF cLIMAtE cHAngE In nortH AMErIcA
The ipcc (Bates et al., 2008) predicts that annual mean precipitation will decrease in the arid
southwesternusa, but will increase in the remainder o North America during the 21st century.
Extreme precipitation events, potentially leading to foods but also droughts, are projected toincrease. It is projected that a combination o warming and changes in the orm, timing and
amount o precipitation will reduce the snowpack in the western mountains by 2050, leaving
water systems relying on the runo in the west o North America particularly vulnerable.
Depending on the amount o precipitation, groundwater aquiers remain vulnerable. As the
sea level rises, aquiers in coastal areas are particularly threatened by saltwater intrusion. These
changes in water availability will likely decrease hydropower output along the Colorado River
and the Great Lakes (Christensen et al., 2004; Moulton and Cuthbert, 2000; Logren et al.,
2002; Mirza, 2004). Water- and ood-borne diseases and degraded water quality are very likely
to increase, with the corresponding consequences on human health (Bates et al., 2008).
The eects o climate change on agriculture are multidimensional, and whether climatechange will lead to an increase or decrease o yields depends to a large degree on how well arm-
ers are able to respond to a variety o actors, such as pests and changes in water availability and
quality, with the areas least endowed with nancial resources the most vulnerable. Changes in
rainall patterns and drought regimes can lead to ecosystem disturbances, including ire
(Smith et al., 2000) and biological invasion (Zavaleta and Hulvey, 2004). Aquatic lie will be
aected by changes in water availability and quality due to warming.
WAtEr coMMunItY dEvELoPMEnt coMMunItY cHAngE coMMunItY
do WE ALL LIvE In dIFFErEnt WorLds?
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The present document will not ocus on describing the diverse impacts o climate change,
since various studies have been produced on this subject. A broad overview o some o the
major impacts is given in boxes 0.1and0.2. The United Nations Economic Commission or
Latin America and the Caribbean (eclac) details, or example, in a recent report on the
Economics o Climate Change in the Caribbean that taking action now on both adaptation
and mitigation in the Caribbean Region will cost 2-3% o gdp, whereas the cost o inaction
could be 5% o annual gdp (eclac, 2011).
outLInE oF tHE docuMEnt–AnALYzIng AdAPtIvE cAPAcItIEs
The document is organized along ve action chapters. The rst chapter discusses the needor an increased quantity and quality as well as accessibility o inormation to support plan-
ning and decision-making processes, as well as inrastructure that can take changing condi-
tions into account. The second chapter provides practical examples o how the benecial
relationship between water management and ecosystem services can be urther strength-
ened. Eective water resources management, within the iwrm approach, and its need or
both “hard” (inrastructure) and “sot” (institutional and social) measures is developed in
the third chapter. The ourth chapter details the water-related challenges o adapting to
climate change in human settlements. The nal chapter highlights the importance o social
mobilization and communication, equity issues and improvement o the conditions o the
poor to reduce the vulnerability o all parts o society towards climate change.
Some critical elements or water management to adapt to the challenges o climate change
will provide a link between the chapters o this document. Firstly, it is widely recognized that
good governance and institutional arrangements are critical to manage a resource that aects
a wide range o sectors. The ability to ensure the eicient and equitable use o a limited
resource requires strong institutions that enable users to reach decisions that are orward-
looking and lexible to accommodate emerging challenges and are inclusive in their
implementation.
0.2
Good governance nd institutinl nmntsare critical to manage a resource that aects a wide rangef scts.
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Second, calls or increased and smarter financing are well documented, both to achieve
current needs and to reach the added challenge o climate change. A prerequisite or access-
ing unds is that water-related institutions and their implementing capacity need to be
strengthened. Financial and administrative mechanisms will be analyzed throughout the
chapters. The ocus will be on nancial mechanisms that are fexible and help to leverage
innovative approaches, particularly to strengthen climate services, to maximize the
resourceulness o societies to deal with a changing climate.
Underlining the two previous considerations is the third premise o ensuring that the condi-
tions or appropriate actions to adapt to the challenges o climate change are developed. Such
an enabling environment relies on human, institutional and nancial capacity to be able to
increase resilience and reduce vulnerability to climate change.
The document provides an impetus to twosmart(Specic Measurable Achievable Realistic
and Time-Bound) targets, which have been dened by therpdto ocus eorts and highlight
progress rom local level actions to national or supranational policy decisions on water and
climate change. The ollowing two targets are being achieved through awise process (Wide
Involvement Stakeholder Exchanges):
Enabling environment – th cnditinsf pppit ctins t dpt t th chllnsf climt chn.
Incsd nd smt fnancing.
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TargeT 1BY MArcH 2012, cArrY out An InvEntorY oF WAtEr-rELAtEdcLIMAtE cHAngE AdAPtAtIon ExPErIEncEs In tHE AMErIcAs, BEtHEY PuBLIc PoLIcIEs, rEguLAtIons, LAWs, ProjEcts, ProgrAMs,or otHEr ActIvItIEs; BE tHEY LocAL, nAtIonAL or suPrA-
nAtIonAL In scoPE
To meet this target, the Inventory o Water and Adaptation Actions in the Americas (water-
aaa) has been created, on www.aguaaaa.org, in both English and Spanish (a Portuguese
version will be available shortly). It has been set up as a platorm to support the sharing o
experiences related to water-based climate change adaptation in the countries o the
Americas, to shed some light on the barriers encountered and the lessons learned through
related actions. The inventory aims to continue long beyond the 6th World Water Forum, in
order to provide continuity in the actions undertaken in the Americas.
While the inventory is starting up, already around50 activities have been identied. This
number is in addition to 116 case studies on water and climate change compiled in Brazil,available at www.ambiente.sp.gov.br/wp/pactodasaguas/mudancas-climaticas-agua.
T suppt th tt nd stimult th shin f lvnt ctivitis, th Piz fWt nd adpttin actins (PrIZeWaa) has been created, which will take three
nalists to the 6th Wld Wt Fum, s wll s wdin th piz winn with usd50,000 to upscale the winning activity over the coming three years.
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TargeT 2 BEtWEEn MArcH 2009 And MArcH 2012, stIMuLAtE tHE sPEcIFIcIncLusIon oF WAtEr rEsourcEs In 10% oF nEW or ExIstIngnAtIonAL And LocAL AdAPtAtIon PLAns In tHE AMErIcAs, AndrEAcH A FurtHEr 15% In BotH ArEAs BY MArcH 2015
The intention o target2 is to oster synergy between two related national planning processes:
climate change adaptation and Integrated Water Resources Management. Separate bodies
within the same government oten carry out these two planning processes, and while their
objective is in essence similar, their ocuses may thus dier greatly. For this purpose, the
baseline o climate change adaptation plans as o March2009 that considered water resources
management is being deined, through oicial government sources. Five criteria were
applied to the answers received, namely:
– Development o models bringing together hydrological and climate inormation, allowing
reliable scenarios to be generated o all parts o the water cycle, including extreme events
– Development o models o ecological quality o water bodies– Application o hydrological scenarios (or the21st century) in other sectors that are highly
dependent upon water resources (energy, agriculture, tourism, etc.)
– Identication o the most sensitive indicators o climate change
– Evaluation o the hydrological management systems under the scenarios generated or the
21st century
As o December 2011, the situation had been dened or 14 countries in the Americas, which
showed a largely moderate degree o integration between the two processes. By the time o
the6th World Water Forum, it is hoped to reveal the situation in the whole continent.
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Box 0.3tHE nInE PuBLIc PoLIcY rEcoMMEndAtIons oF tHE rPd, presented in
Cancun at the 16th Conerence o the Parties (cop 16) o the United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change (unfccc) are taken up within the dierent chapters and in
the elements described to link the chapters. The public policy recommendations are:
01. It is important to recognize the imminence and importance o the impacts o climate
change on water resources.
02. Adaptation to climate change should be incorporated as a key strategic element in
Integrated Water Resources Management.
03. It is important to strengthen the ‘environmental dimension’ in water resources manage-
ment in the region as a climate change adaptation measure.
04. In the development o water-based climate change adaptation policies, it is important to
explicitly consider equity and poverty alleviation measures.
05. Hydro-climate inormation systems in the region must be strengthened so that they can be
used to support timely and preventive climate change adaptation measures.06. The region should continue the ongoing process o institutional capacity development or
water-based adaptation to climate change.
07. Water resources inrastructure needs to be developed and adapted to respond to climate
change impacts and to the sources o nancing available or this purpose.
08. The process o water-based adaptation to climate change oers important challenges in
terms o social organization, implying the need or sustained eorts to be made to establish
eective coordination, collaboration and social participation mechanisms.
09. The region must increase its eorts to generate knowledge and train proessionals on water-
based adaptation to climate change.
BAckground
With the aim o raising awareness and increasing the technical understanding on the
impacts o climate change on water resources, as well as giving a more coherent voice to the
water community in the global debate and providing a platorm to share water-based adap-
tation experiences, a group o organizations has come together in the Americas in a rpdon
Water and Climate Change Adaptation. It is an open process currently bringing together20 organizations, which contribute with their expertise and practical experience to this
combined eort.
0.3
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Therpdled to the production o a regional policy paper in 2010, which presented nine public
policy recommendations on water and climate change (Box0.3), initially ocusing on the
lacregion. The nine public policy recommendations were presented at the unfccc cop 16
during the Dialogs or Water and Climate Change (d4wcc), which brought together over
600 experts and decision-makers rom national and local governments, multilateral and
civil society organizations and academia, in a week-long program. Thed4wcc also made the
case or the ormal recognition and consideration o water resources in the climate changedebate. But more than simply raising the prole o water issues, the d4wcc clearly demon-
strated that the water community is already organizing itsel to deal with the growing
impacts o climate change on water resources, not in a hypothetical uture, but in the here
and now.
The event thus served as a platorm or the rpd to exchange best practices, and acted as a
springboard or a call to action at the 2011 World Water Week in Stockholm, among other
on-going eorts, now ocusing on the whole Americas continent.
The present document is the continuation of this eort; building on the nine public
policy recommendations from the 2010 dcumnt, it ieiae hw ths cm-mendations reect in practice and how they relate to broader sustainable develop-mnt chllns. It eail innvtiv ctins in th in twds th chivmntf th tw smt tts. It ls pie some examples that illustrate how to reach
outside the so-called “water box” and engage with forward-thinking decision-makerswho realize that achieving water security is ultimately the best climate change adapta-tion strategy.
ovErvIEW oF tHE docuMEnt
Building on the nine public policy messages the document takes as its basis case studies on
water and climate change and develops its message around the ve chapters, which are in
turn connected through three storyline elements.
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
1. INFRASTRUCTURE AND INFORMATION
2. ECOSYSTEMS
3. INTEGRATED WATER
RESOURCES MANAGEMENT (IWRM)
4. HUMAN SETTLEMENT
5. SOCIAL MOBILIZATION
THE WAY AHEAD
G O O D G O V E R N A N C E
E
N A B L
I N
G E
N V I R
O N M
E N T
F I N
A N C
I N G
9 KEY MESSAGES
FROM REGIONAL POLICY DIALOG (RPD) 2010
CONTENT
DEVELOPMENTCASE STUDIES
FIgurE 0.1Dvlpmnt nd ovviw f Dcumnt.
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Climate
ServiCeS in theameriCaS:infraStruCture
and information foradaptation to ClimateChange
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introduCtion: relevanCe and viSion
Traditionally, socitis hav volvd in part by managing th impacts of climat onlivlihoods, natural rsourcs and built nvironmnts, as wll as by taking advan-tag of opportunitis givn by climat and natural rsourcs in gnral. Climat iscntral to th conditions that can gnrat prosprity. It can also crat unfavo-
rabl conditions such as watr scarcity and natural disastrs that can hav ngativand multiplicativ impacts on major socital issus such as halth, povrty, foodscurity and infrastructur. In addition to th dirct costs in lost livs, proprty andlivlihoods, ths vnts also caus a rang of indirct impacts, including dcrasdprivat sctor invstmnt and productivity associatd with conomic and nviron-mntal uncrtainty.
Chapter 1 lead author: ernando miralles-wilhelm, idb
1.1
New advances in science and technology have provided higher reliability in climate inor-
mation and services and better insights into managing climate risks and opportunities. For
example, seasonal orecasts, satellite observations, and long-term climate projections can
help guide socio-economic investment decisions, enhance productivity, and reduce risks
and vulnerabilities to disasters. However, despite the global attention that has been placedon climate, much o this inormation is not used to its ull potential. This disconnect
between climate inormation producers and inormation users can be attributed to a variety
o actors: prospective users oten ind climate inormation diicult to understand; the
inormation has typically not been adapted or evaluated or their needs; and linkages
between researchers, inormation producers and decision makers are oten weak or non-
existent, hindering the development o new knowledge and decision support mechanisms.
However, new practices and tailored climate inormation and adapted inrastructure –
Climate Services – would be able to accelerate and strengthen the process in order to meet the
growing demands or useul and usable climate inormation.
Nw practics and tailord climat information and adaptdinfrastructur – Climat Srvics - would b abl to mt th growingdmands for usful and usabl climat information.
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Climate Serviceshave a history that dates back to the early 1990s, including experiences in the
Latin America and the Caribbean (lac) region (Podestáet al., 1999, 2009). The concept itsel
was proposed by the World Meteorological Organization (wmo), adopted at the 3rd World
Climate Conerence in 2009, and embraced by the United Nations Framework Convention
on Climate Change (unccc) at the 16th Conerence o the Parties (cop 16) in2010. wmo’s
Global Framework for Climate Services (gcs) promotes the use o relevant science-based
climate inormation and prediction or practical applications throughout the world.
Hydro-climat information systms in th rgion
must b strngthnd so that thy can b usd
to support timly and prvntiv climat changadaptation masurs.
puBliC poliCY reCommendation 5 of the rpd
In the Americas, a vision or the development and implementation o climate services has
been ostered so that it is well aligned with the gcs guidance on integrating climate inor-
mation into decision making in socio-economic sectors, through an eective dialogue
between providers and users on the range, timing, quality, content and delivery ormat o
climate products and services. This vision is inspired on the “adaptation cycle” concept,
which has been generated through the rpd. The conceptual approach or this eort isoutlined in igure 1.1. The gcs is structured along ive elements: (i) a climate services
inormation system; (ii) a user interace platorm; (iii) observations and monitoring; (iv)
research, modeling, and prediction; (v) and capacity building. The rpd approach urther
tailors these elements into ive entry points or dierent types o climate services to be
produced as deliverables by our team, connecting and enabling users to tackle each stage o
the adaptation cycle.
This approach is driven by a vision o providing comprehensive climate services corre-
sponding to this document’s three storyline elements in a regional setting . Comprehensive
climate services are those that: (i) span time scales rom seasonal, to inter-annual to decadal
and beyond; and (ii) include not only climate science knowledge and tools (e.g., data,
models, decision-making tools) but also ancillary climate products that are necessary to
eectively support adaptation inrastructure projects and help manage climate-related
risks, e.g., communication approaches, institutional strengthening, assessment mecha-
nisms, stakeholder engagement and acilitate access to inancial resources. Other such
examples o these climate services are shown inside the blue bubbles in fgure 1.1. Place-
based climate services will be developed in the region through activities that make measur-
able improvements to the storyline elements.
WMO’s Global Framework for Climate Services (GFCS) promots th us of rlvant scinc-basd climat information and prdiction for practicalapplications throughout th world.
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OBJECTIVES
– Adaptation Goals– Communications of Results– Lessons Learned
IDENTIFICATION
OF ADAPTATION
ACTIONS
DESIGN
IMPLEMENTATION
INSTITUTIONAL
SUPPORT
USERS OF
CLIMATE SERVICES
– Water Supply Utilities
– Insurance Agencies– Sector Economists– Tourism Entities– Industrial Facilities– Urban Planners– Financial Institutions– Other users
ASSESSMENT
– Performance Metrics– Evaluation
– Feedback
INFORMATION
– Hidroclimatic Data–Modeling Remote
Sensing
APPLICATIONS
– Socio-Economicand Decision-SupportTools
INFRASTRUCTURE
– Engineering Design– Technology
– Financing Sources
VULNERABILITY
AND NEEDS
ASSESSMENT
MONITORING,
EVALUATION AND
FEEDBACK
SCENARIO
ANALYSIS AND RISK
ASSESSMENT
figure 1.1RPD concptual approach: climat srvics (blu bubbls) arco-dvlopd with usrs to support and fdback ach stag of thadaptation cycl in dvlopmnt-cntrd projcts (yllow ovals).Infrastructur and Information componnts of climat srvics havbn highlightd.
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1.2
W key needs s cscs s s ,
nancing and establishing an enabling environment
throughout the Americas?
W challenges (i.e., barriers,
limitations) that each location is facing in addressingthese needs?
W activities (deliverables) can be proposed
and implemented to address these challenges?
We propose activities responsive to the dierent adaptation needs within the Americas, and
that are able to assimilate, support and leverage ongoing eorts to develop climate services
as these needs unold and evolve. This approach is driven by three user-centered questions:
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Water reSourCeS High-rsolution droughtmonitoring and arly warningsystms for small island countristo countr alrady strssd watrsupply.
Glacir mass dynamic monitoringwith lad tim for lak outburstoods and seasonal changes inwatr availability.
Dvlopmnt of climatological“norms” for mtorologicaland hydrological variabls (.g.tmpratur, prcipitation and rivrdischarg).
Flood forcasting.
Improvd rsrvoir and irrigationopration at sasonal timscals.
Modling of intnsity and frquncyof extreme events, runo changes,cyclon frquncy changscombining with sa lvl ris,warming, and watr dmands.
CariBBean
andean
mexiCoand CentralameriCa
SouthernCone
diSaSter prevention
and riSk reduCtion
Vulnrability mapping undrdierent downscaled rainfall andtmpratur scnarios, applid toincrasing storm surgs, tropicalcyclones and ood damage.
Hydrologic modling to simulatchanges in runo generation cycleand assss incrasd xposur tocoastal inundation and stormsurgs, xposd population cntrs
and infrastructur, watr qualityand sheries, and aquaculture loss.
Drought monitoring and sasonalforcasting;
Crop monitoring and sasonalforcasting;
Projction of futur drought riskand watr availability for varioussctors (watr supply, crop nds).
Improvd nginring dsigns fordrainag systms, watr storagand convyanc. Rvisions of rturnpriod calculations and impactson hydrologic dsign paramtrs.
CoaStal planning and
management
Sa lvl chang monitoring andmodling for impacts on coastalinfrastructur (urban and tourismpurposs) dvlopmnt.
Coupld cohydrologic-climatmodling to simulat changs inmangrov forsts, salt watrintrusion and highr storm surgs(ooding), increased sediment and
nutrint loadings, utrophication,dad zons, rapid coastalurbanization, and land us changs.
Monitoring and improvd sasonalforcasts for prcipitation,tmpratur, soil moistur;rsrvoir lvls and rivr dischargin coastal aras.
Urban planning and dcision-making tools for infrastructurxpansion, rplacmnt and nwsystms.
1.2.1
taBle 1.1
Example climate service needs identied in the LAC rgion
identifiCation of keY information and infraStruCture needS
We will center our climate service development and implementation eorts on major
climate-related issues or the water community: water resources management, coastal plan-
ning and management, and disaster prevention and risk reduction, which hinder socio-
economic development in the Americas. These climate-related problems also generate
broader scale impacts such as those on the economy, ood production, energy reliability,ecosystem services, social and political stability. Major impacts due to climate variability
and change are already being observed across the region, and include the examples summa-
rized in table 1.1.
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1.2.2 CHALLeNGeS: Climate ServiCeS aS keY to a SuStainaBle development agenda
Limitations and barriers to the development and implementation o climate services range
rom insucient and inadequate climate science inormation and tools, to social, cultural,
political, economic and other gaps (Miles et al., 2006; Giorgi et al., 2009; rpd, 2010; Giord,
2011). The proposed approach will ocus on developing climate services in a collaborativemanner with users (fgure 1.1), contributing to bridge these gaps through tailored services
that address specic needs. This approach will also enable us to obtain eedback and guid-
ance on where the opportunities are to continue to generate and improve the locally specic
climate services that can have increased benecial impacts on the vast and varied problems
that exist in the dierent regions and thematic areas.
As a starting point, therpdhas identied the ollowing common major challenges that need
to be aced in addressing the climate service needs within our priority geographical regions
and thematic areas:
good governance: Develop and oster networks and communication channels to acili-
tate knowledge transer, inorm the public about the outcome and practical application o
climate services, and provide vehicles or active public participation. Eective partnerships
oten have similar characteristics, combining human knowledge and nancial resources,
with an emphasis o coupling local scale resources (e.g., on-the-ground partners with local
presence and capacity) to global scale ones (e.g., academic and proessional partners, donors,
grants and multilateral investment institutions).
fnancing water or all: Procure sources o nancing and leverage existing unds to
augment resources or development and implementation o climate services in the region.
enabling environments: Improve local research, education and development capacity
through the co-production o applications, decision-making processes and tools: develop-
ing and implementing “hardware” (e.g., inrastructure, such as climatological monitoringstations) and “sotware” (e.g., policy and institutional support) climate products. This will
be achieved by creating an environment where local stakeholders are joint partners in the
conception, co-production, and implementation o these climate services, contributing
signicantly in every stage.
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1.2.3propoSed information and infraStruCtureClimate ServiCeS aCtivitieS
good governance - analysis and communication o results: Translate the ndings o
research, applications, workshops and other activities into practice-based guidance or the
provision and use o climate services and development o inrastructure or adaptation, with
eedback to other regions o the world. For this purpose, workshops , meetings, briengs,and other exchanges should be hosted to take advantage o the connections being made with
practical management societal challenges.
inancing water or all - acilitation o access to inancing mechanisms or
climate services and large-scale investments in adaptation: In partnership with
Multi-Lateral Development Banks (MDBs), provide improved means o access to several exist-
ing adaptation unds and contribute to develop new sources o nancing and risk-sharing (e.g.,
private sector) mechanisms or adaptation projects. Financing to help scale-up and widen the
adoption o diverse and fexible adaptation measures, such as small-scale water storage, small
hydropower schemes, rainwater harvesting and drip irrigation, which can have multiple bene-
ts or poverty eradication, ood security and adaptation to climate change.
enabling environment - climate inormation products and inrastructure
applications: Interpret climate inormation and orecast products or adaptation, planning
and risk management in the key societal sectors o water resources, coastal management and
disaster/risk reduction. Interactive tools with alternative scenarios should be developed to
provide a range o options or managers and stakeholders, enhancing the capabilities or
delineating tradeos and acilitate decision-making.
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Sea level riSe in trinidad and toBago
It has been projected that in Trinidad and Tobago, as in many countries in the Caribbean,
climate change and climate variability may result in, among other potential impacts: (i)
requent fooding is likely to be exacerbated by climate change induced sea-level rise and antic-
ipated changes in seasonal rainall patterns; and (ii) loss o reshwater resources as a result o saline intrusion and increased incidence o droughts, less rainall, and increased evaporation
due to higher seasonal temperature.
– Given these potential impacts, there are many actors or conditions that increase
vulnerability:
– Deicits in water supply exist despite an apparent abundance o water in Trinidad and
Tobago; it is expected that pressure over those resources will probably increase, and protec-
tion measures should be taken into account.
– Leakage losses and unaccounted or water are greater than 50% in the country.
– The water sector is also heavily aected by perormance deciencies o wastewater treatment
plants as they impact the quality o surace and groundwater sources.
The Water and Sewerage Authority (wasa), is the agency responsible or carrying out the
government policies related to water and wastewater and or the provision o water and sanita-
tion services in Trinidad and Tobago. Overall, wasa’s wastewater system aces the ollowing
challenges: (i) limited expansion o the central sewers; (ii) taris below the cost o providing
sewerage services; (iii) limited inancial and human resources; (iv) poor inrastructure
designs; and (v) poor maintenance o the existing inrastructure. As a consequence, the sewer-
age system is currently in a state o despair and in urgent need o rehabilitation. Currently,
wasa is preparing a wastewater rehabilitation program, which has the general objective o
improving the environmental conditions in the country by decreasing the uncontrolled
discharge o untreated wastewater into the environment. Since much o wasa’s water and sani-tation inrastructure is located near the shore in coastal areas o the country, this case study
accounts or vulnerabilities o wasa’s water and sanitation inrastructure due to sea level rise.
This is an ongoing project that will be ocused on developing inrastructure improvements to
the Beetham wastewater treatment plant in Port o Spain.
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1.3
1.3.1
propoSed aCtion plan
A proposed work plan to be carried out over an estimated ive-year period is described
through some examples o specic deliverables or each o the ve major climate service
activities outlined above.
analYSeS and effeCtive CommuniCation of reSultS
Communications between climate scientists and decision makers, across regions, sectors,
governments, institutions and stakeholder groups has been identiied as a major limiting
actor or eective use o climate inormation (rpd,2010; Giord,2011). Thereore, a signicant
ocus o the lac regional eort needs to occur in the development o mutual communicationchannels that will enhance the base o users o climate inormation, while at the same time
deepening the understanding o the climate services and products delivered through various
channels in the region. In each application, we must learn what decisions need to be supported
and to supply inormation that prospective users nd helpul in their decision processes. Ways
to signiicantly improve communication o results needs to occur in each o the regional
undertakings and translate the ndings into practice-based guidance or the provision and use
o climate services or adaptation, with eedback to other regions o the world.
For this approach to be successul, it needs to occur at the intersection o multiple actors that
can use climate communication products that are tailored to their needs, while at the same
time being consistent across all such actors. This concept is illustrated in fgure 1.2.
For this purpose, we will host meetings, briengs, and other exchanges between climate
researchers and users o climate services. Specic activities in this context are:
Enhancing the capabilities for delineating tradeosand facilitat dcision-making.
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ACADEMIA/EDUCATION
INFORMATION
PROVIDERS
DECISION
MAKERS GENERAL PUBLIC
SCIENTIFIC
RESEARCHERS PRIVATE SECTOR
INTERACTIONS
CLIMATE PRODUCTS
DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEMS /
REGIONAL PARTERSHIPS TOOLS
COMUMNICATION OF RESULTS
FINANCING MECHANISMS
figure 1.2Rol of Climat Sr vics as a facilitator of communicationsacross actors in the climate dialog, and linking scienticrsarch to socital applications.
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– Scientic orums with a balanced participation o policy makers, decision-makers and
generators o climate inormation.
– Training and capacity-building that increases understanding o the climate services (e.g.,
projections o droughts or extreme storms, climate-related patterns) and associated
uncertainties, and how such services can be used (e.g., changes in crop management or
varieties) and not used (e.g., as “accurate” predictions).
– Training and capacity-building that increase understanding o the decision contexts in
which climate inormation may have value, especially, or specic timerames, engineer-
ing requirements, and locations.
– Partnerships with development agencies and ngos to understand the regional and local
contexts in which climate services can play a signicant role.
– Two-way communication with a broad range o local and regional technical decision-
makers and policy-relevant organizations, such as web-based Climate Inormation News
(research and model results, sharing o successul response strategies, etc.).
– A eedback orum that utilizes in-person workshops and meetings to gain user perspec-
tives o the useulness o cl imate services and products, both current and planned.
Ongoing experiences such as the rpd workshops will be used to identiy eective multi-
way dialogue mechanisms.
The availability of nancial resources is widely identiedby climat srvics’ stakholdrs as a ky limiting factor for adaptationprojcts and practics. Accss and ligibility issus furthrhindr ngagmnts.
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1.3.2
1. scc: Strategic Climate Change Funds; ldc: Least Developed Countries Fund, ci: Climate
Investment Funds, www.climateinvestmentunds.org/ci
faCilitating aCCeSS to finanCing meChaniSmS for adaptation
The availability o nancial resources is widely identied by climate services’ stakeholders as
a key limiting actor or adaptation projects and practices worldwide [un-water, 2010; rpd,
2010]; this is certainly the case in lac. Beyond availability, access and eligibility issues with
unding sources urther hinder engagements in adaptation. This combination o actors has
made the development o constructive interaces between adaptation nancing providersand stakeholder recipients a challenge. At the same time, accessing unds, through coopera-
tion between public and private sector entities, can grow and be sustainable.
Recognizing the acilitation o access to nal resources or adaptation as a climate service in
itsel, the rpd has engaged mdbs as partners, including, in addition to the idb, the World
Bank and the Alliance or Global Water Adaptation (agwa, alliance4water.org). In the case
o the World Bank, it has been charged by the unccc and their contributing governments
with the task o both developing mechanisms or increasing adaptation unding and acili-
tating access to inancial and risk-sharing mechanisms or adaptation. For instance, it
administers the Global Environmental Facility (ge) adaptation unds, as well as several
others1. We propose that incorporating adaptation nancing into our portolio o climateservices is useul to all users o climate services and an opportunity to provide a boost to
actions in our target applications.
The incorporation o inormation on nancing into the portolio o climate services aims to
provide comprehensive guidance on nancial options available or adaptation grants and
investment loans in lac countries. Inormation will be provided on where (and how) to
access the wide range o unds available rom multilateral institutions, as well as public and
private sources. Users will also be invited to be a resource to share their experiences with
investment projects and oer eedback and comments on ongoing projects.
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Some examples o specic nancing acilitation tools that will be provided to users are:
– Identiy unding sources that are available or adaptation projects that reduce vulnerabil-
ity and impacts o climate change. Users can determine whether a given project is eligible,
how the und is structured, and how an organization in the region can access nancing.
– Assist with grant and loan application documents where appropriate, including work-
shops to engage stakeholders in the details o the various sources o nancing.– Learn about projects rom across the world and a range o sectors that have accessed these
unds successully. Experiences (e.g., case studies, lessons learned) using a mix o nancial
sources innovatively can serve as case studies or those waiting to hit the ground.
– Access and leverage the latest climate nance inormation with a library o targeted nan-
cial documents and project guides, a compilation o online tools or nancial and project
analysis and a eedback orum or users.
– Develop tailored nancial instruments to mainstream climate change adaptation and
increase resilience o adaptation projects.
– Identiy and develop lending and technical assistance or climate action in key sectors,
scaling up investments, addressing nancial gaps and leverage options or private sectorinvestments.
Watr rsourcs infrastructur nds to b dvlopd
and adaptd to rspond to climat chang impacts and
to the sources of nancing available for this purpose.
puBliC poliCY reCommendation 7 of the rpd
Climate information produCtS and infraStruCtureappliCationS
A key ocus o our approach is the co-development o research products and services with
our regional and global partners, as well as stakeholders in each location o implementation.
Working in parallel with partners and stakeholders, and obtaining in-depth and requent
eedback rom both, will allow us to produce outputs that integrate across disciplines, socio-
economic sectors, and institutions.
1.3.3
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1.3.3.1Climate information produCtS
Regional eorts on interpreting climate inormation, orecasts, and capabilities across
multiple time scales, beginning with seasonal-to-interannual, and extending to decadal and
multi-decadal timescales are outlined here. To this end, the rpd intends to consolidate and
integrate a wide variety o high-resolution observational datasets in each region, using avail-
able inormation rom regional sources, as well as data available rom our local partners ineach location. For instance:
socio-economic: Gridded maps o population estimates; map livelihood patterns (rural/
urban); income and consumption patterns; ood grain prices and trends over the long-term;
variations in prices during extreme climate events.
meteorology: Gridded objective analysis o daily rainall, surace temperature and other
quality-controlled data or mapping extreme events (e.g., droughts, foods, heat waves) and
identiying vulnerable zones; develop high-resolution aridity anomaly indices, drought
severity index, standardized precipitation index based on long-term climate and satellite-
based precipitation data; quantiying sea surace temperature; El Niño and La Niña impacts
on extreme climate events and other regional atmospheric oscillations patterns intercon-nected with El Niño and La Niña.
hydrology: Map watersheds, stream fow, runo, inltration, evapotranspiration, surace
water and groundwater elevation. Long-term soil moisture distribution or assessing
droughts.
agriculture: Quantiy and map sown area, crop vigor and variations using long-term
vegetation indices, crop moisture index, changes in cropping patterns, irrigation area, yield
and productivity to relate to climate and changing hydrology over decadal time-scales.
Th RPD intnds to consolidat and intgrat a widvarity of high-rsolution obsrvational datasts in ach rgion,using availabl information from rgional sourcs, as wllas data availabl from our local partnrs in ach location.
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inrastructure and investments: Mapping o water and energy utilities, public health
acilities, industrial systems, as well as natural inrastructure (e.g., wetland delineation), or
which strategic environmental assessment and planning can be useul tools.
interactive tools: On-the-spot, what-i scenarios will be developed to provide a range o
options or managers and stakeholders, enhancing the capabilities or delineating tradeos
and acilitate decision-making.
The Caribbean Water Monitor is a web-based service currently being developed by the
Caribbean Institute or Meterology and Hydrology (cimh) (fgure 1.3), where climate/
rainall indices are automatically calculated and mapped using open access geographic
inormation system (gis) sotware (Grass). At a two-day workshop in Trinidad and Tobago
sponsored by the idb in March 2011, this concept was presented to a group o technical and
scientic sta , decision makers and administrators rom the region.
KEY PERCENTAGELIKELIHOOD OF:
A ABOVE NORMAL RAINFALL
N NEAR NORMAL RAINFALL
B BELOW NORMAL RAINFALL
PRECIPITATION OUTLOOK FOR THE CARIBBEANJULY-AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2011PREPARED BY THE CARIBBEAN INSTITUTE FOR METEOROLOGY
AND HYDROLOGY
PUERTO RICO
DOMINICAN
REPUBLIC
DURAS
THE BAHAMAS
CUBA
GUYANA
BARBADOS
LIZE
JAMAICA
40
35
25
40
35
25 45
35
20
55
30
15
50
35
15
45
35
20
35
40
25
figure 1.3Th Caribban Watr Monitor (concpt stag, 2011).
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figure 1.4Drought and gnral prcipitation is monitord and rportd on two scals: (i) rgional,ncompassing th ntir country and (ii) local lvls at highr rsolution. Indics such as thStandardizd Prcipitation Indx (SPI) provid indicators of normal or abnormal rainfall.
SPI – 12 MONTHS
EXTREMLY HUMID
2.0
1.
1.0
0.
-0.
-1.0
-1.
-2.0
VERY HUMID
MODERATELY HUMID
SLIGHTLY HUMID
NORMA
LIGHTLY DRY
MODERATELY DRY
VERY DRY
EXTREMELY DRY
1.16
NATIONAL METEOROLOGICA SERVICE / ARGENTINA
JULY 2011
-0.56
-0.11
0.443.23
-0.64
-0.05
-1.15
-0.11
-0.23
0.3
0.09
-0.30.3
0.85-0.65
0.9
-1.71-0.11
0.29 0.39
-0.73
-0.36
-0.24-0.68
66° W
36° S
30° S
24° S
60° W 54° W
-1.25
-0.16
-0.59
0.24
0.68
-0.47
-0.68
-0.5
-0.67
-0.3
-0.32
-0.55
Climate-adapted infraStruCture appliCationS
On the ground applications o adaptation measures to existing or planned inrastructure is a
next logical step in the assimilation, ne-tuning and dissemination o adaptation practices
in the Americas. These applications need to be ocused on building capacities in key
economic sectors to design, implement, and manage water resources projects and programs.
1.3.4
In Argentina, the National Meteorological Service (http://www.smn.gov.ar) issues orecasts
o the Standard Precipitation Index (spi) with 1, 3, 6, 12, 18 and 24 month lead times. This
hydro-climatological data product can be urther integrated to drive numerical hydrologi-
cal models, decision-support tools and other climate service applications. Also, similar
products can be developed at higher spatial resolution and accuracy at other locations
throughout the Americas.
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urBan flooding in uruguaY
The city o Montevideo, located on the right bank o the La Plata river, is highly vulnerable to
climate change. Major issues currently acing the city are urban planning (inormal settle-
ments in risk areas), vulnerable population aected by extreme events, coastal vulnerability
(sea level rise, extreme events, salt-water intrusion), inrastructure damage, sand-beacherosion under heavy storms, and impacts to water resources, wetlands and other
ecosystems.
For this case study, the local authority , Intendencia Municipal de Montevideo, is ocusing on
urban planning issues around the Pantanoso drainage basin, or which an urban master
plan is currently being designed. The Pantanoso basin is a challenging area or the
Intendencia Municipal since it houses a large concentration o inormal population settle-
ments and is aected by related issues o soil and water pollution, and solid waste manage-
ment. Floods and sea level rise (Río de la Plata Bay) also aect the lower part o the basin.
Taking into account all these considerations, it is expected that this study will help the
Intendencia Municipal to mainstream climate change impacts into its urban planningprocess during the designing phase, improving its adaptation capacity and enhancing the
resilience o the Pantanoso basin.
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Mting th nds of th usrs of such climat srvics and buildingcapacity in th xisting and nxt-gnration of scintists, practitionrs,managrs and policy makrs.
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ConCluding remarkS
Developing and eectively deploying climate inormation and climate-adapted inrastruc-
ture is an important challenge or the water community in the Americas. An eective
response to this challenge must integrate meeting the needs o the users o such climate
services and building capacity in the existing and next-generation o scientists, practitioners,
managers and policy makers. It is these proessionals who will be charged with addressingthe impacts o climate variability and change on already stressed systems, including the
urgent need to adapt to the impacts rom climate change.
Through our rpdinitiative and the partnerships included within it, this approach to climate
services has already been “rolled out” with stakeholders in the region at the cop 16 meeting
in2010. As a result, the framework already has a cadre of core partners and potential users
in the region. We propose to develop climate services as an iterative process with continuous
eedback at the entry points, and a monitoring-evaluation-eedback process embedded in
the adaptation cycle itsel. This sel-assessing process will acilitate the tailoring and assimi-
lation o climate services in our target storyline elements and place-based activities.
1.4
Dvlop climat srvics as an itrativ procss with continuousfdback at th ntry points, and a monitoring-valuation-fdbackprocss mbddd in th adaptation cycl itslf.
From the onset, we recognize that achieving this vision is a broader and dierent enterprise
than anything that exists currently in the climate services arena. It needs to be grounded in
natural and social sciences; develop application projects that tie user needs to developers o
climate inormation; support the design and implementation o adaptation actions locally,
together with the institutional support that will make these actions sustainable in the long
run; secure the human and nancial resources required to accomplish these actions; and itneeds to provide clear and transparent mechanisms or monitoring, evaluation, sel-assess-
ment and adaptation.
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Situation roomS for extreme hYdrologiCal eventS,BY ana Brazil
Floods have had devastating impacts on sprawling Brazilian cities, causing substantial loss
o social and economic assets. Although Brazil collects a wide scope o hydrologic and
climatic data that enables it to orecast and monitor extreme events such as droughts andfoods, it is lacking the necessary inrastructure to process and disseminate this inormation
to a wide audience.
Given the successive occurrence o disasters-related events, the National Water Agency o
Brazil (ana) has established in 2009 a Situation Room, whose main objective is to monitor
trends in the hydrological system in the country, through the analysis o the evolution o
rainall, river and reservoir levels, and other weather and climate-related indicators. As a
result, timely actions can be taken to prevent or warn against extreme events.
Through this network, timely inormation has been provided on several occasions. In 2011,
local residents in the Brazilian states o Alagoas and Pernambuco were timely inormedagainst an imminent food. A similar event had in previous years caused the loss o human
lives and property, displacing tens o thousands o amilies.
Cy, ana is setting up additional situation rooms and hydro-meteorolo-gical monitoring stations in various parts of the country, in close partnershipwith the local water management entities and the Civil Defense and EmergencyManagement forces. Additionally, the government of Brazil is currently mappingthe main areas susceptible to ooding throughout Brazil.
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EcosystEm
sErvicEsin thE adaptivEmanagEmEntof watErrEsourcEs
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Background
As part o the Regional Policy Dialogue (rpd) process in 2010, a discussion was brokered on
the environmental dimension o water management, starting with its most obvious mani-
estations: overexploitation, pollution, loss o ecosystems and impacts on public health. In
developing these dialogues, key elements o the environmental problems adversely aecting
the implementation o Integrated Water Resources Management (iwrm) were identied.Notable among these is the ailure to recognize the limits o natural systems and their role as
providers o water and other services. Putting this recognition into practice presents techni-
cal, legal, social and o course economic challenges, but above all, it implies the recognition
that ecosystems are a undamental component o sustainable water management.
chaptEr 2
This approach begins by recognizing that the main challenges for adaptation toclimate change in the relationship between water and ecosystems, should consider:
Climate resilience is the ability of a social and ecological system to absorb distur-bances without changing its basic structure and function, or its ability to self-organizeand to adapt to pressures and changes (Kundzewicz et al., 2007). In the social sphere,resilience is built by strengthening the capacity of society and its institutions torespond to disturbances caused by climate change, including hydrologic variability
and uncertainty. On the other hand, an ecological system will be more resilient if ithas the ability to recover from intensied climatic variability and from the response of
the social system itself. The more biodiverse an ecological system is, the more resil-ient it will be, and its alteration must comply with minimum conditions for thesurvival of its plant and animal populations (Falkenmark, 2003). A resilient ecosystem,as a provider of goods and services, in turn increases social resilience – social andecological resilience are closely related.
lead author: eugenio barrios, wwf
2.1
It is important to strengthen the ‘environmental dimension’ in water
resources management in the region as a climate change adaptation measure.
puBLic poLicy rEcommEndation 3 of thE rpd
The morebiodiverse anecologicalsystem is,the more resilientit will be.
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Capacity development or adaptation to climate change in water management requires that
water governance processes are strengthened (Landa et al., 2011). It also requires ecosystem
preservation that enables the hydrological cycle. Such an approach is essential or protecting
populations rom the impacts o extreme climate events and to achieve water security.
The conservation o natural systems provides benets associated with ecosystem services
such as water capture, storage and supply in sucient quantity and appropriate quality. Inaddition, it provides maintenance o regional climate and a buer to ace the impacts o
extreme hydro-meteorological events, and plays a central role in managing climate
change risks.
The provision o environmental services depends on the regenerative capacity o ecosystems,
which in turn depends on their condition and the complex interactions between biological,
chemical and physical properties being maintained, which are currently threatened by
various processes o environmental degradation and the eects o climate change.
The loss o biodiversity itsel is reason enough to rethink the relationship between ecosys-
tems and iwrm. However, the goods and services ecosystems provide to water manage-ment is a urther reason that should be recognized as a joint benet. Healthy ecosystems
strengthen water management, and sound water management strengthens the conservation
of natural wealth.
2.1.1thE chaLLEngE of adaptation to cLimatE changE, consErvingBiodivErsity and BuiLding rEsiLiEncE
The American continent occupies two biogeographic regions, the Nearctic (Canada, usa
and northern Mexico) and the Neotropical (Latin America and the Caribbean, lac). Both
regions are home to about 40% o the world’s plant and animal species, 32% rom the
Neotropical regions, making it the most biodiverse region in the world. The Living Planet
Index is a measure o biodiversity loss rom the known species in 1970. The global compo-
nent o this index or reshwater ecosystems has declined 35% to date, and or the tropics, the
index has allen 70%, which represents by ar the highest loss o species o any region on the
planet (wwf, 2010). This loss is primarily associated with habitat destruction, meaning the
overexploitation o water bodies with the consequent loss o wetlands and other reshwater
ecosystems, alteration o river banks, deorestation and pollution.
Healthy ecosystems strengthen water management,and sound water management strengthens the conservationof natural wealth.
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impLEmEntation of forEst rEstoration pLotswith thE EndEmic and EndangErEd spEciEs aBiEsguatEmaLEnsis, By uicn
In 2004 the upper part o the Suchiate and the Coatan basins in Guatemala were character-
ized by degraded soils, deorestation, and pressure on the remaining orest o the endemicspecies, Abies guatemalensis.The area had unsuccessul reorestation experiences in the past
due to its low temperatures throughout the year o 2 to 15 degrees Celsius and a low level in
nutrients due to the erosion o topsoil.
As a response to this situation, in 2004 the International Union or the Conservation o
Nature (iucn) implemented an ecosystem-based approach to planning, introducing an
ecological succession approach to orest restoration. During the years 2004 until 2006, seed-
lings o Abies guatemalensis together with other local species o Pinus ayacahuite and Alnus
sp. were grown in nurseries. Ater two years the small trees were ready to be planted in the
eld. The main success in the early stage o development o the ecological restoration was
due to the utilization o local shrub species (Lupinus ehrenbergii, Eryngium cymosum,Baccharis vaccinioides, and Stevia polycephala) to shelter and protect the plantation o Abies
guatemalensis, Pinus ayacahuite and Alnus sp. against the elements that might otherwise
have threatened them. All three species are slow growing trees, which have grown approxi-
mately 25 cm in length within the last 5 years. It is the main goal to reestablish a naturally
unctioning ecosystem o mountain orests around the watersheds and in the areas o
recharge.
When ully unctioning within the next decades, these newly ormed areas will be able to
capture, retain and lter a high amount o rainwater in case o extreme weather events. This
supportive eect can mitigate strong fooding in the lower part o the river. The monitoring
process o the project is planned or 2012 with the measurement o the water level and thewater quality and quantity (biological, chemical and physical analysis) year round in dier-
ent sample sites, connecting this data with meteorological data. The area reorested assures
the quantity and quality o water or uture generations, and generates an economic benet
through the commercialization o trees (around usd 15 per tree). Results were possible
thanks to the commitment and involvement o stakeholders such as the communities rom
Coatán and Suchiate, the Forest National Institute (inab), the Protected Areas National
Council (conap) and the local governments.
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Climate change poses a new challengeto water management, but there is no needfor a new process.
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2.1.2thE chaLLEngE of iwrm:sociaL Equity and EnvironmEntaL sustainaBiLity
Water management has evolved through a continuous process o refection and analysis, as a
result o which it has adopted dierent terms and concepts that have guided and inormed
action: water or development, sustainable management, integrated water resources
management, and others. Today climate change poses a new challenge to water manage-ment, but there is no need or a new process.
Approaches to address this challenge have revealed, on the one hand, the pending issues
water management has to address in the region, particularly in lac (universal coverage o
water services, preservation and restoration o natural ecosystems, adequate and sucient
unding, economic development, etc.). On the other hand, water managers have always
dealt with climate variability, positioning them well to develop responses that are adaptive.
Climate change will necessitate a review o the perormance o iwrm and the role it should
take. In this context, there are two principles, which undoubtedly represent the greatest
challenges: social equity and environmental sustainability.
Water managers have always dealt with climatevariability, positioning them well to develop responsesthat are adaptive.
In the social sphere, the challenge is dominated by the inequality in access to water that still
occurs in the region, which in turn necessari ly entails management with solidarity and
transparency [chapter 5]. But while this inequality reers to water and sanitation, it is
important to extend this approach to the understanding that on the one hand healthy ecosystems are suppliers o water and sanitation or marginalized communities removed
rom population centers; and on the other hand, the destruction o ecosystems and their
services urther reinorces the conditions o inequality or the same population.
Hence, in order to successully conront climate change, it is imperative to establish a new
relationship between iwrm and the natural environment, a relationship that recognizes
ecosystems as the means o supporting lie itsel, and as the provider o water resources and
property as well as the additional services that water management requires and uses: storage
capacity, food control, disposal, handling, water quality control, coastal protection, etc. To
achieve this recognition, it is not sucient to consider the environment as one o the objec-
tives o management, as has been happening thus ar in the best o cases, but as a guiding
principle or the adaptive management o water resources.
Environmental sustainability requires harmonizing government and society’s capacities to
collectively move towards environmental governance based on inormation, transparency,
participation, accountability and civic responsibility (ceiba, 2006).
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Joint soLutions: watEr and EcosystEms
Based on the aorementioned, the countries in the Americas consider the building or
strengthening o resilience as central to their adaptation strategies, in order to decrease
social and ecological vulnerability. In the region, it is considered essential to integrate solu-
tions in the area o iwrm, to build a positive balance o resilience based on the developmento social and institutional capacities, conservation and restoration o ecosystems, their
services and unctions, eective demand management, and optimizing the operation and
construction o inrastructure.
2.1.3
dEvELopmEnt of sociaL and institutionaL capacitiEs.non-structuraL actions
The essential element in any adaptation measure, not only in the eld o water and ecosys-
tems, is the social capacity to participate, to build reliable and eective institutions capable
o recognizing or developing legitimate and transparent processes [chapter 5].
In general terms, social and institutional resilience will be supported by accompanying non-
structural actions and the right measure o structural actions to ensure an equitable and
ecient use o water, to increase the capacity to respond to adverse situations and maintain a
state o minimal impact or all. Actions such as institution building and participation mech-
anisms, equitable tari schemes as well as fexible and transparent schemes o water alloca-tion, including the elimination o perverse subsidies, are some examples.
This is particularly relevant within the generation and dissemination o appropriate inor-
mation or each sector or interest group [chapter 1]. Knowledge promotes resilience –
ignorance makes us vulnerable. The easibility o establishing any adaptation measure and
putting it into practice is based on the inormed participation o society through inclusive
processes that generate awareness and responsibility to preserve water in the environment as
a common good, and the goal o sustainability and transparency o all.
2.2Build reliableand eectiveinstitutions capableof recognizingor developinglegitimateand transparentprocesses
Knowledge promotes resilience – ignorance makesus vulnerable.
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watEr fund: watEr for LifE and sustainaBiLityin thE EL cauca vaLLEy, coLomBia By tnc
In 2009, tnc along with 11 other organizations created a nancial mechanism (Water Fund), which increases the
natural cover in the watersheds o the tributaries to the Cauca river basin. The mechanism unctions as a strategy to
maintain the micro-basins’ water-environmental services or the conservation o species, communities’ householdconsumption, businesses in urban areas and in the countryside to irrigate crops, using a multi-stakeholder consul-
tation strategy. The investment acility is directed to the maintenance o base fows, reducing sedimentation and
protecting biodiversity, and aims to guide investments to address the areas o greatest vulnerability to climate
change and those which generate the greatest economic benets.
By now, ater three years o its existence, the und has usd 2.2 million rom contributions by sugar mills and
Ecopetrol. usaid provided unds or technical support. The und manages resources rom Procaña and the Global
Environmental Facility’s Sustainable Livestock project. The investments benet the water supply o 100,000 people
(16,000 amilies) directly and 980,250 people (246,000 amilies) indirectly within the Fund’s area o infuence.
The Fund’s investment is based on an integrative analysis o multiple aspects, including:
– Social analysis: It denes priority areas considering the preerences o communities and local experts (socialeasibility).
– Biophysical analysis: It considers the countryside areas that provide the best results (perormance) or the protec-
tion and restoration actions to achieve increases in water fow, annual water supply, erosion control and biodiver-
sity protection.
– Economic analysis: It calculates the per hectare costs o activities, including implementation costs (year 1) and
maintenance (years 2 and3) to dene the portolio o works with the greatest benet.
– Analysis o climate change: From the development o climate change scenarios, ecosystem-based adaptation
strategies are given priority; losses to given societies and sectors as a result o climate change are valued against
investments or conservation, and communicated to the community during the development o strategies.
In the three years o the Fund’s existence, the preliminary results demonstrate a clear increase in runo per hectare
(up to 40%) in the driest months o the year and reduced erosion o up to 600 tons per year.
te L ae alle we f (e b tnc, fEmsa f, idB gEf) usd 27 ll ee, lee le le 32 wef E, clb, pe, Bl, me e e L ae e cbbe.
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consErvation and rEstoration of sErvicEs and EcosystEmfunctions. Limits to Extraction
To conserve biodiversity, productivity and sustainability o aquatic ecosystems, it is neces-
sary to highlight water as a variable element in a physical environment, which is organized
and dened by the natural hydrologic regime (Po et al., 1997). Understanding this varia-
bility a llows its conservation and well-planned alteration as an objective o watermanagement.
Between the conservation o a natural regime and its maximum alteration or water extrac-
tion there are dierent levels o ecosystem degradation (usepa, 2005, Davies and Jackson,
2006). This controlled alteration provides an opportunity or water managers to strike a
balance between conservation objectives and water extraction, dening how much water
can be extracted rom the environment, while maintaining, altering or mitigating the loss o
resilience o certain ecological unctions that maintain states resilient. This balance between
minimum and maximum conservation and water extraction criteria translates into
management guidelines or surace and groundwater sources, i.e. or the integrated manage-
ment o watersheds and aquiers.
Thus, to ensure the resilience o ecological systems, iwrm requires setting limits on resource
extraction, to conserve ecologically signicant aspects o the hydrological regime, either by
ecological fows, eco-hydrological balance or the case o wetlands or water reserves or areas
o great ecological importance, such as protected areas [chapter 3]. The conservation o the
water dynamics o river basins represents management benets such as maintaining storage
capacities, mainly groundwater recharge, and discharge rom extraordinary rainal l
extremes (Landa et al., 2008; Magañaet al., 2011).
2.3
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To build reliable and eective institutions capable
of recognizing or developing legitimate and transparentprocesses.
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watEr rEsErvEs for thE EnvironmEntand mExican standard on EnvironmEntaL fLows
The Mexican government through the conagua and the Alliance wwf-
Fundación Gonzalo Río Arronte has developed a standard or determining
environmental fows that will comply with the provisions o the NationalWater Law and include an allocation o water or ecosystems in all the coun-
try’s basins and aquiers. In parallel, it developed a program or the establish-
ment o water reserves in 189 watersheds where conditions are avorable in
terms o water availability, ecological importance and low pressure on the
resource. These watersheds cover 97 protected areas and 55 wetlands recog-
nized under the Ramsar Convention and comprise an area o 78,500 km2 o
great hydrological importance. The same program has developed institu-
tional capacity to integrate ecosystem criteria to support water management,
as well as the involvement o society to participate in the adoption and moni-
toring o the reserves.
Water reserves represent multiple benets as measures or adaptation, the
most obvious or biodiversity being habitat conservation and biological
connectivity along a basin, as well as other less obvious benets but o great
value or water management. In particular, water reserves are a tool or risk
management by establishing a buer against extreme variations in availabil-
ity, the integration o surace and groundwater, aquier recharge and conser-
vation o hydrologic levels. Socially, water reserves ensure among other
beneits water supply and a source o ood, particularly or marginalized
populations. The establishment o 189water reserves in strategic basins will
create a 40-60% buer capacity o annual water availability, reducing the
risk o shortages and associated social unrest. It also establishes a limit o thewater allocation process, which is currently based on one hundred percent
average annual runo. This condition represents a situation o high vulner-
ability to society and zero resilience o ecosystems.
wwf, conagua, idB e gl rí ae f e
e eel ee e e eee e ee me.
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FEASITIBILITY(JOINT MANAGEM
VERY HIGH
HIGH
MEDIUM
BASIN ORGANISM PROTECTED AREAS
RAMSAR SITES
110° W 100° W 90° W
N
N
N
N
N
figurE 2.1 Potential Water ReservesH
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2.4 dEmand managEmEnt
The ipcc recommends as an adaptation measure the eective management o the demand
o water resources, rather than expanding supply. Consistent with this principle is to set
limits to the extraction o water resources in order to ensure their renewal capacity. It is
about doing more with less: improved rural productivity – instead o increased water
consumption –, ecient use by the population and repairing leaks – instead o opening newsources. Prioritizing this principle in the solutions, wherever easible, means adaptation,
whereas avoiding it results in maladaptation actions. In this sense, the inrastructure that
includes or complements the ecosystem services and manages the demand or water and its
ecient use promotes resilience through measures such as rainwater harvesting, articial
recharge o aquiers, water reuse, the reorestation o recharge areas, etc.
2.5optimization of thE opEration and constructionof infrastructurE: thE roLE of naturaL infrastructurE
Watersheds can serve as eective systems o collection and removal o water, nutrients and
sediments – sustaining lie on the planet. Their proper unctioning depends on their physi-
cal state, which in turn holds signicant operative benets or iwrm, through or example
an ecosystem’s ability to capture and store water, assimilate pollutants, mitigate the eects o
extreme events, provide water or ood or the most vulnerable communities, and maintain
and increase vegetation cover, a measure o great importance not only or climate changeadaptation but also mitigation. This contribution o the natural environment to the opera-
tion o water systems is the so-called “natural inrastructure” and increases the resilience to
extreme events. Built inrastructure should complement, to a greater or lesser extent, this
natural inrastructure, but not replace it.
Proper land management is essential to maintain healthy watersheds that provide their
services as natural inrastructure. The integration o water and land management is a major
challenge o adapting water management to climate change, which should aim to ensure the
protection o terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems and halt land-use change and deorestation
(Landa et al., 2008; Magaña et al., 2011). iwrm has great potential as a measure to manage
change in land use. In many cases, the overexploitation o aquiers is directly associated with
this change: the opening o agricultural land is related in one way or another to extraction
permits; in other cases, urban settlements are accommodated i the water supply is secured.
Joint planning o water and land management is essential and complementary, and acili-
tates regulation, reducing vulnerability and increasing resilience [Chapter3].
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In this context, payment schemes or environmental services that encourage the conserva-
tion o orests in catchment areas are one o the actions widely applied and accepted in recent years, also benetting marginalized communities. The conservation o watersheds provides
benets or resource management such as abstraction and recharge o water bodies, sedi-
mentation control and regulation o the hydrological cycle, especially relevant or the control
o extreme precipitation events.
Initiatives or the payment o hydrological environmental services extend the concept o
drinking water to the basin and internalize their costs, as a urther element in the value
chain that goes rom its collection to its discharge. Such programs are widely developed in
many countries. Costa Rica was a pioneer and role model in its implementation. Mexico has
been developing a ederal program or seven years that has generatedusd 400 million, rom
revenue in ees or water use rights, to pay or the preservation o 2.7 million hectares o
orests – benetting nationwide 5,400 cooperatives and communities. During this period,
the annual rate o deorestation has been halved. In Brazil, in addition to regional and local
initiatives, the ana runs a national program with a budget o about usd 20 million (brl 34
million) or the period 2012-2014.
The IPCC recommended as an adaptation measurethe eective management of the demand of water resources,rather than expanding supply.
Improved rural productivity – instead of increased waterconsumption, eicient use by the population and repairingleaks – instead of opening new sources.
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Contribution of the natural environmentto the operation of water systems is the so-called“natural infrastructure” and increases the resilienceto extreme events. Built infrastructure shouldcomplement to a greater or lesser extent this natural
infrastructure, but not replace it.
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2.6 concLuding rEmarks
During the past two years o discussions and exchanges a common position o the water
community on the world o climate change has been developed. This has led to the recogni-
tion o gaps and omissions o the past, as well as the great opportunities to strengthen the
management o water resources in the uture. This is a new phase o management in which
the environment is seen as part o the solutions, not the problem. Every day we have urtherelements or water managers to abandon the concept o environmental obstacles, the idea o
ecosystems as users o water that compete against others, to instead start viewing the envi-
ronment as a partner and resource provider and the multiple environmental services, which
benet everyone. The great challenge or the uture is the gradual mainstreaming o water
management in ecosystem services and climate change adaptation, and strengthening the
economic and social aspects o all solutions, to reduce our vulnerability and build resilient
societies and ecosystems.
This is a new phase of management in whichthe environment is seen as part of the solutions,not the problem.
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Integrated
WaterresourcesManageMent
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IntroductIon
Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) the most exible and comprehensive
tool for assessin and for meetin the diverse demands of water resorces (Elliot et
al., 2011). The IPCC reconized in the Forth Assessment Report of 2007 that IWRM hasthe potential to be “an instrument to explore adaptation measures to climate change.”
cHaPter 3 lead author: abiola tabora, gwp
3.1
There are three main elements, which cause iwrm to be considered as the best tool to address
climate change impacts on water:
– It recognizes the holistic nature o the water cycle and considers the variety o sectors that
use water and the need or these sectors to participate in an integrated manner to ensure
that plans in one sector do not harm the activities o another.
– It recognizes that the establishment o eective institutions is key to manage water related
activities airly and successully.
– It is inherently adaptive. iwrm recognizes that water management plans need to be exi-
ble and adaptive to changes in other sectors. This implies that there is no one-size-fts-all
solution.It is important to mention that the river basin should be the territorial unit to consider or
the management o water resources. It is the space at the heart o social, historical, political,
institutional, economic, environmental and physical concerns, which shape the way in
which resources are used. By considering the basin as the basis or iwrm, we take into
account the internal relationships between the aorementioned aspects and externalities.
Such an approach allows management decisions to identiy and take into account key
aspects, such as ecosystem services [chapter 2].
iwrm recognizes the need to manage the benefts and the drawbacks o water management.
Adaptation to climate chane shold be incorporated
as a key strateic element in Interated Water Resorces
Management.
PuBLIc PoLIcY recoMMendatIon 2 oF tHe rPd
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It urther recognizes that one type o use can aect the others, meaning that to adapt eec-
tively to climate change will require a better water management that includes a combination
o “hard” (inrastructure) and “sot” (institutional) measures. In particular, climate change
adaptation strategies may require proound changes in the way agriculture, industry and
human settlements are managed. This may involve investment in plans or the conserva-
tion, efciency, innovation and reuse o water resources. For example, the agricultural sector
must invest in the research o climate-resilient crops and irrigation technology that makes amore efcient use o water. Another example is the need to modiy production chains o
goods or services that are highly demanding o water resources which are common in arid
regions (such as dairy production), to reduce their water demands (possibly by importing
odder or cattle rom other more water abundant regions); this would imply changes in the
production, transport, fnancing and investment structures, as well as overcoming inertia in
the orm o acting and thinking in society and various authorities.
What ollows are a series o elements that should be considered to advance in the context o
iwrm towards actions or climate change adaptation in the Americas. These have been
grouped into three ields: Good Governance, Financing Water or All and an Enabling
Environment.
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To adapt eectively to climate chanewill reqire a bet ter water manaementthat incldes a combination of “hard”
(infrastrctre) and “soft” (instittional)measures.
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good governance3.2
3.2.1LegaL and PoLIcY FraMeWork (adaPtatIon PLansand strategIes):
For countries o the Americas to cope with climate change, they must have a sufciently
exible legal and political ramework to incorporate the variables associated with climate
and the associated changes in the use o water resources by dierent sectors. In this respect
many countries and regions have begun the process o developing strategies or adapting to
climate change, which identiy the priority areas that need to be addressed to reduce their
vulnerability. In some o these plans water resources have been given priority, as is the case o
Costa Rica and Honduras, to name but two.
The development o legislation on climate change and general laws on water, which main-
stream the approach to climate change, has been initiated in the region, seeking to establish
a clear regulatory ramework to enable government institutions and civil society to have the
necessary support to promote the reorms needed or mitigation and adaptation o the
countries in the Americas.
The development of leislation on climatechane and eneral laws on water, whichmainstream the approach to climate chane,
has been initiated in the reion.
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tHe natIonaL cLIMate cHange strategY oF Honduras (encc)
Approved in 2010, the encc is part o the country’s overall planning process, specifcally the
National Plan (2010-2022). The purpose o the encc is to ensure that the Honduran society,
economy and territory have a low vulnerability to the impacts o climate change. It aims to
strengthen the current public policy ramework, incorporate appropriate and timely strate-
gies and measures aimed at reducing socio-environmental and economic vulnerability and
at improving the resilience o the sectors and regions most exposed to climate threats.
The policy ramework on climate change includes 17 strategic objectives, o which 15 are
related to adaptation and two to mitigation. In the case o adaptation, they are linked to theareas o vulnerability o the dierent sectors and systems prioritized in vulnerability assess-
ments and climate impacts, defned based on inputs rom regional workshops held under
the guidance o the Ministry o Natural Resources and Environment (serna). In this
process, water resources were one o the priority areas o impact identifed and is included in
the ollowing three strategic objectives that orm part o the encc:
– Reduce the impacts o more requent and intense droughts, due to reduced rainall, and
enhance groundwater recharge.
– Reduce alteration o environmental ows, considering the eects o climate change on
river systems.
– Prevent and avoid the decrease in water quality, through contaminants, considering theeects o climate change on the volume o water available.
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deveLoPMent oF MuLtI-sectoraL coordInatIon
Water management in most countries o the continent tends to be carried out on a sectoral
basis, which causes the various water users in agriculture, public supply, industry and energy,
among others, to take independent actions. This generates inconsistencies and ragmented
development, which negatively impacts the ability o countries and institutions to address
climate change.
Facing climate change requires a multisectoral and interdisciplinary approach, as the
impacts o climate change extend beyond a single sector. Creating multisectoral coordina-
tion spaces provides an opportunity or the participation o all sectors and stakeholders in a
watershed or a specifc problem. Such coordination platorms have eective mechanisms or
decision-making and can work across dierent organizational boundaries and with a wide
variety o actors.
Moreover, such platorms acilitate collaboration and the sharing o inormation – a basic
actor to identiy relevant actions on adaptation to climate change, since much hydro-
meteorological inormation is not managed by a single sector. Also, when deciding on acourse o action, it is necessary to consider the impact this decision will have on other
sectors and users.
3.2.2
LocaL PartIcIPatorY PLannIng
Local-level participatory planning helps to increase the resilience to cope with climate
change impacts. This planning allows vulnerability analysis to be drawn up, as well as the
prioritization o necessary actions and their translation into management plans that incor-
porate climate change and variability among other elements to be considered. Relevant
mechanisms at the local level are River Basin Councils. By design they consist o representa-
tives rom dierent sectors, making them ideal sites to gather inormation or decision-
making, as well as identiying research needs. Mexico has successul experiences o these
River Basin Councils.
3.2.3
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Water Saety Plans (wsp) are a measure to adapt to climate change, because their implemen-
tation results in the improved preparedness o water and sanitation utilities to cope with
extreme events and the degradation o water quality. Their development and implementa-
tion requires the consideration o all components o the water supply system, and involves
the identifcation o actors that can jeopardize quality or access to water. A wsp identifes
critical sites in the watershed that require special attention, the same actors that help to
reduce vulnerability to climate change. It is important to consider that wsps should seekmechanisms to coordinate the development o schemes or integrated risk management.
3.2.4decentraLIzatIon Is keY
The delegation o responsibilities to the local level o government is important to expedite
the measures taken or prevention and care o the impacts o climate change. These impacts,
such as loods and landslides, must have well-established mechanisms at the local level
enabling them to respond immediately to emergencies. It is also necessary to generate the
local capacity in terms o organization and management o technical and fnancial resources
that enable the implementation o timely measures or adaptation and reducing
vulnerability.
Early warning systems have been implemented or example in Central America enabling
local communities to participate actively in responding to an extreme event. Coordination
between the institutions responsible or monitoring hydro-meteorological events and localcommunities has been key in reducing the number o human losses when extreme events,
such as oods, occur (fgure 3.1).
Facin climate chane reqires a mltisectoraland interdisciplinary approach, as the impacts of climatechane extend beyond a sinle sector.
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ANALYSIS
AND PROGNOSTICSCOMMUNICATION
MONITORING
RESPONSE OF THE
VULNERABLE
POPULATION
DATA TRANSMISSION
COMPONENT
ANALYSIS AND PROGNOSIS
COMPONENT
DATA GENERATION
COMPONENT
ALARM AND ACTIVATION
OF EMERGENCY PLAN
FIgure 3.1Commnication Protocol of the Early Warnin System in San Pedro Masahat
tHe IMPLeMentatIon oF earLY WarnIng sYsteMs In eL saLvador (FIguRE 3.1)
In the municipality o San Pedro Masahuat in the department o La Paz, in central El
Salvador, advanced experience has been gained in the implementation o Early Warning
Systems. It is part o the local government’s commitment to reduce vulnerability and toconront oods and landslides, especially in summer months.
The Early Warning System has grown to become an example o speed and eiciency in
collecting and disseminating inormation that has reduced the local impact o hydro-mete-
orological extreme events on human lives. Most important to its successul implementation,
has been the development o local capacity and the close communication that must exist
between community leaders and the population living in high-risk areas that may be
aected by extreme hydro-meteorological events. In other words, an early warning system
relies on local monitoring, eedback and very good communication coverage o the network
o local observers.
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Water use eFFIcIencY
Climate change, population growth and increase in the demand or water, among other
actors, make it necessary to reduce the pressure on water resources through among other
measures a more efcient use and allocation o water. Regulation, fnancial mechanisms
and economic incentives are key elements to promote a more rational and efcient use o
water. For instance, such measures will lead to greater availability o water during droughts.
In this sense the management o transboundary basins and aquiers is key to avoid that, as
water resources become a limiting actor, conicts over shared water resources in these areas
are aggravated. This is the case, or instance, o the Guarani, the world’s biggest aquier,
shared between Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. For its management the three
countries manage it jointly to ensure its conservation and sustainable use.
In summary, in order to achieve a good governance o water resources, iwrm should be
based on the inclusion and eective participation o all sectors o society, ensuring represen-
tation rom each stakeholder that has an interest in and/or depend upon water, be they users,
civil society organizations and indigenous people as well as including gender perspectives.With these users, plans should be ormulated to harmoniously coordinate the uses and
customs, standards and laws that encourage the management o land and other resources
with local goals and a basin-wide vision. In building this improved governance to ace
climate change, it is pivotal to combine capabilities between government and society, and
consider the appropriate and timely use o climate inormation, as well as transparency and
accountability.
3.2.5
Relation, nancial mechanismsand economic incentives are key elementsto promote a more rational and eicientse of water.
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FInancIng Water For aLL
International assessments have pointed to the lack o unding as one o the main barriers or
countries to comply with the proper management o water resources, in particular the
Camdessus Report in 2003 and the Gurria Report in 2006, which were developed as reer-
ence and decision making tools or the 3rd and4th World Water Fora. These reports also indi-
cate that the problem is not only the lack o fnancial resources per se,but the inability o thewater sector2 to access unding due to its institutional weaknesses and lack o knowledge and
capacity in many countries, all o which impede access to the available resources and fnan-
cial instruments.
For example, within the commitments made in the Plan o Implementation o the World
Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, countries agreed to the develop-
ment o iwrm plans. However, the implementation o these agreements has not been satis-
actory. In this regard, it was recommended to the un Commission on Sustainable
Development (csd 16) in 2008 that “Countries should establish roadmaps and fnancing
strategies or the implementation o their plans with External Support Agencies […] provid-
ing support to countries, based on demand” (un-water, 2008).
This is directly related to climate change adaptation: not having sufcient resources to prop-
erly manage water resources increases the vulnerability to the impacts o climate change. For
example, in the poorest countries the ability to manage water resources declined during the
years o structural adjustment in which public sector budgets were squeezed. This aected
especially the hydro-meteorological planning and measurement systems, as short-term
actions aimed at the provision o services were prioritized (Sado and Muller, 2009). Since
hydro-meteorological inormation systems are the basis or decision-making on climate
change and its relation to water, their reduced capacity also aects the ability to make projec-
tions and scenarios to best meet the consequences o climate change and variability.
3.3
Fndin for adaptation to climate chane shold ensre that instittions can flll
the plannin, monitorin and hydroloical measrin fnctions, basic tasks thatenerate information needed for scenario development as well as desinin bilt or
natral infrastrctre that considers climate variability, amon others. This also
involves lon-term capacity development. Also, when a clear instittional frameworkexists with well-dened roles, reportin mechanisms and accontability, it leads to
improved access to external fndin to spplement pblic fnds to cover the invest-ments needed for sstainable water manaement and the conseqent adaptation to
climate chane.
2.By “water sector institutions” we are reerring not only to those that work directly on water, sanitation and hygiene but also those that
participate in iwrm.
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In general, “investments in water resources management should be considered as fnancing
or sustainable development that also oers benefts or adaptation” (gwp,2011). Considering
the positive economic and social results that are generated, better conditions or the adapta-
tion and reducing vulnerability to climate change are created, which is important to note in
the context o fnancial management. In some countries, capacity building in the Treasury
and Finance Ministries is carried out to improve the ormulation o investment projects,
making changes in the pre-easibility stages o a project to incorporate the risk approach inthe design o inrastructure, allowing inrastructure development to be climate-prooed
both in planning and with regard to fnancial requirements that the inrastructure sector
will ace.
Not havin sicient resorcesto properly manae water resorcesincreases the vlnerabilityto the impacts of climate chane.
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enaBLIng envIronMent:strengtHenIng caPacItY to Increase resILIence and reducevuLneraBILItY
iwrm acilitates the establishment o an enabling environment to implement measures that
contribute to climate change adaptation. A number o conditions such as capacity develop-
ment or the generation o inormation – pre-requisites or the identifcation and implemen-tation o concrete measures – can be met through the application o the iwrm approach.
It is important to include academia as one o the key stakeholders to implement actions that
promote adaptation to climate change, since capacity development is essential or imple-
mentation o actions under a changing climate. Academia’s contribution to research and
development o new technologies can be key.
3.4
The reion mst increase its eorts to enerate
knowlede and train professionals on water-basedadaptation to climate chane.
PuBLIc PoLIcY recoMMendatIon 9 oF tHe rPd
The implementation o communication and inormation strategies aimed at the general
public is a necessary strategy to raise awareness and bring about change in the patterns o use
o water, while at the same time raising awareness about the relevance o these actions to
reduce vulnerability to climate change. It is also important to have eective mechanisms or
communication between dierent sectors, to improve accountability and eective partici-
pation o the various users in the adaptation process. Training at dierent political levels onthe crosscutting nature o water is also important, since decisions on budget allocations and
priority actions are taken at these levels and aect the management o water resources.
As noted above, it is crucial to generate a better understanding o water resources and their
demand. In developing any strategy or water management it is necessary to have an under-
standing o available water resources and to anticipate the demand or them. Elliott et al.
(2011) states “inormation, including basic geophysical, hydrometeorological and environ-
mental data as well as inormation about the social, cultural and economic values and
ecosystem needs, is also critically important or eective adaptation.” This includes under-
standing the systems o surace and groundwater as well as the use o water or domestic
supply, industry, energy and agriculture.
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Integrated regIonaL Water ManageMent, caLIFornIa, usa
Caliornia lies within multiple climate zones, and thus each region o the state will experi-
ence unique impacts rom climate change. Moreover, economic and environmental eects
rom climate change are dependent upon location, so adaptation strategies must be region-
ally appropriate. In response, in Caliornia Integrated Regional Water Management (irwm)provides a critical ramework or actions to address the uncertainties presented by climate
change, as well as other risks to Caliornia’s water uture. For every irwm plan, water use
efciency must be a oundational action and a key part o every water agency’s portolio. In
many instances, water conservation reduces not only water demand but energy demand as
well, which in turn can lead to reductions in Greenhouse Gas (ghg) emissions. The
Department o Water Resources (dwr) has incorporated climate change into the most
recent guidelines and proposal solicitation packages (psps) or the IRWM grant program.
Adaptation to climate change and reduction o ghg emissions are also irwm program pre-
erences, which means that proposals meeting these preerences will earn additional credit in
the application scoring process. The dwr has also developed an on-line irwm/Climate
Change Clearinghouse o guidance documents to help irwm applicants meet these newgrant requirements. The irwm Guidelines, psps, and Clearinghouse are available on the
dwrwebsite at: www.water.ca.gov/irwm/integregio_new10.cm
In addition to the irwm/Climate Change Clearinghouse, dwrhas also completed a project
with u.s. epa Region 9, the u.s Army Corps o Engineers, and the Resources Legacy Fund to
develop an irwmClimate Change Handbook. The Handbook is available ondwr’s webpage
(www.water.ca.gov/climatechange). It provides detailed inormation or irwm practitioners
on completing climate change vulnerability assessments, measuring impacts, evaluating
strategies or meeting the challenge o climate change, and planning and implementing
under increased uture uncertainty.
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rIver BasIn ManageMent In MexIco
Mexico’s National Water Law declares:
– The basin together with aquiers are the basic territorial unit or iwrm.
– The decentralization and improvement o water resources management by river basin,
through governmental River Basin Organizations as well as River Basin Councils, which
are o mixed composition and include the participation o the three tiers o government,
water users and civil society organizations in decision – and commitment – making.
i. river basin councils, encompassing the basic territorial unit of management
and their subsidiary bodies: The watershed is composed o “sub-watersheds”, in which
River Basin Commissions are ormed. They are composed o “micro-watersheds”, which are
managed by River Basin Committees, to attend to ocused and specifc problems, Technical
Groundwater Committees (cotas) or the case o aquiers and Clean Beach Committees.
The path chosen has been to legal strengthen the River Basin Council, through the concur-rent participation o governmental and non-governmental actors in these representative
bodies, and the defnition o actions to be carried out by each o these stakeholders, looking
or the common beneft or the users o the respective watershed. It was necessary or the law
to incorporate criteria o decentralization and openness to the participation o everyone
involved in it – authorities, users, social sectors, as well as indigenous peoples and commu-
nities. This was done to promote a management approach that is comprehensive, pluralistic,
participatory, rational, equitable, productive and sustainable.
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Another issue to consider is the establishment o capacity-development mechanisms that
allow a ull understanding o the role o stakeholders in decision-making and water resources
to be identifed as an ecosystem service that depends on a number o elements that interact
with each other. This capacity development is at all levels, rom water users to the representa-
tives o government institutions at all three tiers.
It is necessary to incorporate the organized society and users o water as indispensable actors
in addressing the most acute problems o governability o the nation’s water resources; to
have their participation in the decision-making processes as well as in making speciic
commitments and sharing responsibilities in the implementation, fnancing, monitoring
and evaluation o activities o water management. In addition, adequate fnancing and solid
and consensually accepted data are needed to ollow through with agreed plans.
ii. technical groundwater committees (cotas)
cotas are subsidiary bodies o the River Basin Councils o mixed composition, essentially
composed o the users o the aquier with technical support rom the authorities aimed at the
ormulation, promotion and ollow-up o the implementation o programs and actions thatcontribute to stabilize and eventually recover overexploited aquiers, and the preservation o
balanced aquiers and those with higher recharge rates than their extraction.
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Water-based
adaptationto climate changein cities
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Urbanization processes in the americas:a compelling context for Water-based adaptationto climate change
Latin America and the Caribbean (lac) is the most urbanized region in the world, a process
mostly triggered in the 1930’s onwards by the introduction o import substitution industri-
alization (Gilbert and Gugler, 1992; un-habitat, 2010). To characterize the urbanizationprocess in the region is not an easy task, since there is a great deal o heterogeneity among
countries in terms o their urbanization trends, urbanization patterns and urban socio-
demographic characteristics. Notwithstanding, it remains possible to depict some telling
generalizations regarding urbanization process in the region that can help to contextualize
current water-based adaptation challenges in cities.
Urbanization trends in the region have been quite steep. Whereas in the 1950’s less than 41%
o its population lived in urban areas, presently, more than 75% o its total population is
living in cities. Still, there are important inter-regional dierences, or example in Uruguay
91% o its population lives in cities, as or in Haiti only 36%. In the our largest countries o
the region, Brazil, Mexico, Colombia and Argentina, the percentage o urban populations isvery high, approximately 82%, 77%, 76% and 90%, respectively. Urbanization processes
across the region are expected to continue, although ollowing a slower pace. Regardless, it is
oreseen that by 2050 the region will have an urban population surmounting to 89% o its
total population (un-habitat, 2008; un-habitat, 2010). Thereore, it seems important or
societies across the region to acknowledge this demographic situation and steadastly
support water-based adaptation to climate change processes in cities and their hinterlands.
As such, water-based adaptation to climate change in cities should become a priority
throughout the region (Satterthwaite et al., 2007).
chapter 4 lead authors: roman gomez, victor arroyo and dianasiller, un-habitat
4.1
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Across the region, the dynamic between early urbanization patterns and urbanization
trends produced three important phenomena. Firstly, the ormation o a group o mega-
cities, including amongst them Sao Paolo, Mexico City, Buenos Aires, Lima, Bogotá, and Rio
de Janeiro. These mega-cities already represent a challenge in terms o water management
and climate change will tend to urther complicate this situation. Secondly, the integration
o a huge pool o mid-sized cities, as well as the prolieration o small-sized urban settle-
ments with decient basic inrastructure and services. An important number o these largeand mid-sized cities o the region are located on coastlines and are vulnerable to sea level
rise, tropical storms and hurricanes, and thus requiring specic water-based adaptation to
climate change measures. Thirdly, and very importantly, this extremely ast urbanization
process, characteristic o the region, could not be matched by urban planning systems,
resulting in the ormation o extensive slums and poor peri-urban settlements across all
primary, secondary and tertiary cities (un-habitat 2010). In lacin 2010, the urban popula-
tion living in slums was approximately 27% (un-habitat, 2010). It is important to empha-
size that most o these slums are located in dangerous and unsuitable lands, including hill-
sides, ravines, and riverbanks, a situation that only increases the risk and vulnerability o
their populations to the impacts o climate change. This complex policy problem calls or
greater inter-institutional coordination amongst water, risk management and land-useplanning policy sectors.
As or the region’s socio-demographic processes, it is relevant to underline that urbanization
is generally associated with important welare and socio-economic benets, such as higher
income, greater access to services and amenities, and generally speaking a lower poverty
index. This assertion stands orlac(world bank, 2005). Still, across the region, despite the
high levels o urbanization, the incidence o urban poverty is very high, as approximately
65% o the poor (approximately 130 million inhabitants) and hal o the extreme poor
(approximately 50 million inhabitants) live in urban areas (un-habitat, 2010). Such socio-
demographic trends suggest that the phenomena o ‘urbanization o poverty’ will continue
throughout the region (world bank, 2005). Studies also suggest that i poverty rates remainunchanged in2025, two-thirds o the region’s poor will be living in cities. Poverty requently
increases vulnerability and thereore, measures to adapt water to climate change must
consider these measures under the broader ramework o poverty-alleviation and social
development policy eorts.
Mega-citiesalready representa challengein terms of watermanagementand climate changewill tend to furthercomplicatethis situation.
Large and mid-sized cities of the region are locatedon coastlines and are vulnerable to sea level rise, tropicalstorms and hurricanes.
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The lac region also shows the largest inequality worldwide (un-habitat, 2008; un-habi-
tat 2010). This inequality maniests across urban settlements, where the urban poor live in
slums, poor peri-urban areas and low-income neighborhoods with inappropriate and over-
crowded services. Mostly, these settlements are constructed on land sites requently at high
risk rom extreme weather events and other hazards, alongside gated communities, residen-
tial neighborhoods, gentriied city centers and business districts. Typically, cities in the
region are oten ragmented into dierent enclaves, based on wealth, class, ethnic and reli-gious characteristics. This ragmentation becomes a driver o social exclusion and margin-
alization that only reinorces the precarious living conditions and the vulnerability o poor
and marginalized urban dwellers to the impacts o climate change and variability
(McGranahan et al., 2007). In this sense, water-based adaptation to climate change policy
should internalize social equity considerations, becoming also an instrument or social
cohesion in the city.
From the above, it is clear that in the region, developing sustainable, socially inclusive and
climate resilient cities is a complex and compelling challenge requiring innovative orms o
governance, nancial mechanisms and enabling environments. Water-based adaptation to
climate change in cities should continue to be a priority (Satterthwaiteet al., 2007).
Water adaptation in cities:governance, financial and enabling environmenthighlights
Already a number o important documents have established in detail the pathway impacts
o climate change over cities. It is also possible to nd detailed discussions regarding the
governance, nancial, institutional strengthening, capacity development, technical, and
awareness raising aspects o water-based adaptation to climate change. Reerences to some
o this work are included in the bibliography. In the case o this short brie, it seems better to
only attempt to highlight some relevant aspects o the debate that are perceived critical to
advance water-based adaptation to climate change processes in cities across the region.
4.2
Poverty frequentlyincreases vulnerabilityand therefore, measuresto adapt water to climatechange must considerthese measures under
the broader frameworkof poverty-alleviationand social developmentpolicy eorts.
Water-based adaptation to climate change policy shouldinternalize social equity considerations, becoming also an instrumentfor social cohesion in the city.
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A shared vision is needed to develop adaptation alternatives that are sociallydesirable, socio-economic viable and practically achievable.
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governance aspects:the challenge of inter-institUtional coordination,social organization and city planning foresight
Water-based adaptation to climate change in cities represents a particular inter-institutional
coordination, social organization and planning oresight challenge. Cities are complex
places encompassing a high concentration o people and wealth, an extreme diversity o socio-economic activities, a high density and use o inrastructure networks, a great inten-
sity o services required or its correct unctionality, and a high dierentiation o sectoral-
administrative bodies or managing it. In terms o water-based adaptation to climate change
processes, planning systems should support more comprehensive and integral actions that
take into consideration both the uncertainty surrounding climate change, as well as the
complex and evolving character o cities unctioning and development (e.g. such as demo-
graphic and economic growth trends, urban sprawl and land change patterns, projected
water and sanitation demands, etc.) (McGranahan et al., 2007).
4.2.1
It is only through bridging closer ties between the scientic, the water resources manage-
ment and urban and regional planning and risk management policy networks that city
planning oresight can be developed. Such an approach needs a shared vision to developadaptation alternatives that are socially desirable, socio-economically viable and practically
achievable. Oten, when conronted with the impacts o extreme hydro-meteorological
eects – such as foods, landslides, or recurrent droughts –, evidence shows that one o the
main actors dening the extent o impacts and damages has been a lack o inter-institu-
tional coordination and multi-stakeholder participation. This is because the lack o both
socio-political organization practices requently produces disjoint planning processes that
increase the vulnerability o cities – and especially o the poorest sectors o their population
– and limits the expediency and eectiveness o post-disaster responses. Unortunately,
inter-institutional coordination and multi-stakeholder participation are dicult to achieve.
Both practices require specic institutional designs and policy processes – such as the estab-
lishment o cooperative management regimes, deliberative institutions, urban and regional
network management, collaborative planning processes, etc. –, and most importantly also
demand political will, leadership, accountability, political and social justice, and social
empowerment. Thereore, eorts to develop and strengthen these types o institutional
designs and social organization practices, as well as the commitment to achieve these
normative principles should continue to be pursued as part o water-based adaptation eorts
in cities.
The region should continue the ongoing process
of institutional capacity development for water-based adaptation
to climate change.
pUblic policy recommendation 6 of the rpd
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3.un-habitat-Mexico is currently working in partnership with the National Institute o Ecology (ine) o Mexico to develop a robust
multi-disciplinary cost-benet and vulnerability analysis methodology that includes the production o climate scenarios, the hydro-
logic simulation o extreme events, the analysis o maximum direct and consequential economic loss, the socio-economic valuation
o economic impacts upon the productive activities o cities and the economic impacts to households, accompanied by a governance
analysis. The methodology aims to assist the relevant authorities in ecient decision-making and nancial allocations.
4.2.2 financial aspects:hoW to effectively allocate scarce resoUrces UnderUncertainty?
There are several important nancial challenges related to the implementation o water-
based adaptation in cities. O course, harnessing nancial resources or adaptation meas-
ures is one o them, especially under great inancial constraints, and when other morepresent and pressing priorities exist. On this, the role o international nance is critical,
especially or assisting poor countries in their adaptation eorts. Still, the diculty in allo-
cating resources to water-based adaptation in cities not only has to do with inancial
resources scarcity, but with uncertainty and ‘uzzy’ allocation o responsibilities. Also, the
prevalent uncertainty surrounding climate science and impact predictions makes it partic-
ularly dicult to rationally allocate nancial resources or water-based adaptation meas-
ures. Another important problem has to do with the diculty in clearly establishing mecha-
nisms to responsibly allocate the inancial burden o climate change impacts amongst
government and other stakeholders, including the insurance sector. Decision-makers and
stakeholders when aced by the need to address climate change and variability, requently
lack inormation and knowledge to nance timely, eective, ecient and equitable deci-sions to reduce vulnerability and build city resilience.
There are relevant eorts that seek to systematically assess uture risks and quantiy the
socio-economic costs and beneits o dierent adaptation options at a city scale. These
methodologies are mostly multi-disciplinary, bridging dierent scientic disciplines aimed
at assisting decision-making and eicient inancial resources allocation3. Mostly, the
attempts seek to model uture climate change scenarios to establish uture weather base-line
conditions, assess and characterize current and uture socio-economic and environmental
vulnerabilities, quantiy relevant risks – through diverse actuarial and econometric models
–, identiy adaptation options and evaluate their benets. These rameworks attempt to
provide a systematic characterization o prospective impacts produced by extreme eventsand estimate the direct costs o damages to inrastructure and peoples’ assets, as well as the
indirect costs derived rom disruptions to socio-economic and productive activities (Ranger
et al., 2011). These methodologies aim to identiy the most benecial adaptation options
such as no regret measures, win-win options and tandem measures, etc. It is important to
highlight that these methodologies also attempt to demonstrate how disaster risk manage-
ment, urban planning and water-based adaptation measures can have positive benets or
today, as well in the uture; and to show how complementary measures, instead o sectoral
or disjointed activities, can produce the greater benet.
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Identify the most benecial adaptation options such as noregret measures, win-win options and tandem measures.
One of the main factors dening the extent of impactsand damages is a lack of inter-institutional coordinationand multi-stakeholder participation.
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Water-based adaptation to climate and pUblic policyin tUxtla gUtierrez, state of chiapas, mexico by Un-habitat
In the context o a project supported by the Spanish Millennium Development Goals
Achievement Fund, un-habitat implemented “The Joint Programme o Mexico and
United Nations System to Strengthen a more Democratic and Eective Water Governance”.It consists o a water-based adaptation to climate change initiative in partnership with the
government o the state o Chiapas, the local authorities o Tuxtla Gutierrez and with the
participation o community organizations and other stakeholders. Under this initiative,
un-habitat designed and supported a step-by-step process that sought to improve urban
water management under conditions o climate change. The project methodology involved:
(1) an assessment o the conditions and vulnerabilities o the local water and sanitation
services, (2) the production o downscaled climate scenarios or the locality to determine
uture climate patterns and model extreme events, to later assess the potential impacts in
the water sector, (3) the mapping o close to 40 stakeholders to determine roles, responsibili-
ties and capabilities, (4) developing preliminary key public policy recommendations based
on the diagnostics, (5) carrying out a multi-stakeholder participatory process to raise aware-ness, share and validate ndings and rame multi-sectoral agreements and harness support
or action, and lastly (6) supporting the integration or mainstreaming o policy recommen-
dations into key planning documents at both the municipal and state levels.
Based on those experiences, the team ormulated a set o “Guidelines or the Management
o Water and Sanitation Service Provision in Peri-urban Areas o Cities Under Climate
Change Conditions” (or more inormation please visit
www.unhabitat.org/pmss/listitem/Details.aspx?publicationID= 3208).
These guidelines address our topics and generally recommend the ollowing:
– It is necessary to maintain a constant multi-sectoral dialogue between relevant institu-
tions and stakeholders at the state and local levels.
– Eective land-use planning and enorcement is critical to avoid risks and reduce
vulnerability.
– Albeit dicult and costly to realize, relocation o communities in hazardous and vulner-
able areas o the city should be pursued.
– It is necessary to mainstream a gender perspective into climate change policies.
– Awareness raising and education campaigns are paramount to build capacities or
adaptation.
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– It is very important to maintain databases and time series regarding meteorological
events.
– It is important to support and empower community organizations.
– Reorestation and conservation o ecosystems eorts should be pursued as an integral
part o adaptation policies.
– It is important to promote ecosystems’ monitoring schemes to evaluate changes and
ecosystem resilience.
– Water sources should be monitored and protected at all times.
– Water resources management should be carried out at the river basin level and conjunc-
tive use strategies should be pursued.
– Urban food management should consider water recycling.
– Vulnerability can be greatly reduced i environmental protections considerations are
mainstreamed as an integral part o urban policy, taking care o the protection o the
entire water cycle.
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4.2.3enabling environment aspects:mainstreaming Water-based adaptation into Urbanplanning and broader development planning processes
It seems important to consider again that vulnerability is linked to poverty and to govern-
ance drawbacks in city and municipal governments (Mc Granahanet al.,2007, Satterthwaite
et al., 2007). In the city, extreme events, vulnerability, poverty and lack o local capacity rein-orce each other, increasing risk levels above what can be social ly accepted. In order to
address this situation appropriately, it is pertinent to make water-based adaptation to climate
change an integral part o urban planning, water resources and risk management policy;
eectively mainstreaming water-based adaptation in development processes. With this
approach, it seems possible to oster solutions that respond to local and immediate needs, as
well as wider long-term development goals, aiming to respond to all needs. Secondly, it is
worth emphasizing that two very important elements that are part o creating an enabling
environment or adaptation processes are to oster local authorities’ capacity-building and
institutional strengthening eorts. Besides these eorts, it is also important to acknowledge
that there are diverse experiences o collaborative planning, between local authorities and
community-based organizations that need to be recognized and supported.
In order to enable these orms o collaborative planning and community participation, city
polities should support greater political and social justice, eectively empowering all stake-
holders to address the impacts o climate change thus enabling water-based adaptation to
take place at all levels, rom the city to the individual household-level. Funding is also neces-
sary and can be channeled to eective local adaptation partnerships and community-based
initiatives, through a variety o appropriate small-scale schemes. It is also pertinent to
explore urther the role and responsibility o the insurance industry in developing adequate
products and services to assist local governments, individual rms and households to trans-
er risks and better adapt to the impacts o climate change. Building closer ties between
science, policy and implementation is also paramount in order to gradually reduce uncer-tainty and build more robust decision-making processes. Finally, eorts to oster dialogue
and cooperation between the urban planning, water resources management and adaptation
policy networks – including proessional and academic networks – should also be
encouraged.
City polities shouldsupport greater politicaland social justice
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closing remarks
Most o the population in lac lives in cities and urbanization in the region will continue to
take place. Whether urbanization takes sustainable or unsustainable, inclusive or exclusion-
ary, resilient or ragile orms is a social choice, despite the path-dependent nature o urbani-
zation processes. To address this compelling challenge, city polities should steadastly and
incrementally address urban poverty, social ragmentation, and vulnerability to climatechange; ormulating at the same time compelling long-term projects o sustainable, inclu-
sive and resilient urban transormation, in which the State plays a major role. Respective
policies should be implemented and the rule o law regarding urban planning, risk manage-
ment, and water resources management policy should be enorced. Inringements and
corruption putting urban populations at risk and depleting ecosystem services cannot be
tolerated. At the same time the poor people’s needs, assets and livelihoods should be met and
protected, ollowing a comprehensive and strategic vision. On this, the insurance sector also
plays a critical role. Local authorities should have resources to implement and enorce plan-
ning policy; and should be held accountable on a regular basis. Only through the construc-
tion o eective democratic and egalitarian statehood, allowing or synergies and coopera-
tion amongst stakeholders, water-based adaptation challenges can become a driver in thepursuit o successul sustainable, inclusive and resilient cities.
4.3
Only through the construction of eective democratic and egalitarianstatehood, allowing for synergies and cooperation amongststakeholders, water-based adaptation challenges can become a driver
in the pursuit of successful sustainable, inclusive and resilient cities.
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project Water is life, yoUth association in the defenseof natUre matelândia (adenam), paraná, brazil
This project is a social method developed by the Youth Association in the Deense o
Nature Matelândia (Adenam), an ngo that was established in 1989 by teachers and
students o State College Euclides da Cunha, in the municipality o Matelândia, withthe aim o raising awareness among the community on the threat o environmental
degradation. The project revitalized riparian vegetation and degraded water sources,
located in the properties o small armers. The method consists o cleaning the surroun-
dings o the spring rom debris and siltation, and installing stones and drainage pipes
designed to lter water. Native riparian vegetation is planted within a radius o 50
meters around the spring. The spring is then enced to prevent contamination by
organic matter or animals.
It is estimated that the project has benetted 5000 amilies, strengthening their resilience to
external shocks by providing them with a source o drinking water and increasing their
income through amily arming activities. In 2007, the project was a inalist o theFoundation o the Bank o Brazil (fbb) prize.
Eorts to develop and strengthen institutional designs and socialorganization practices, as well as the commitment to achieve normativeprinciples should continue to be pursued as part of water-basedadaptation eorts in cities.
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fire for Water: forest restoration strategiesto redUce risk from droUght and Wildfire and protectWater resoUrces for a mid-size city in the soUthWestUs, santa fe, nm; tnc
The Santa Fe Water Source Protection Fund prepares city residents or climate change by managing wildre risk, securing water supplies and conserving nature in an integrated
ashion. Public grants support watershed restoration activities that reduce the risk o
climate-driven catastrophic wildre and subsequent disruption o the city’s water-supply
inrastructure, including reservoirs, water treatment plants, and conveyances. Now larger
municipalities like Denver are developing similar programs as a way to protect their water
supplies.
A decade ago, the Cerro Grande re served as a wake-up call or much o the West. The re
burned or two weeks, sustained by 100years o built-up uel, leaving behind a wasteland o
destroyed homes, dead trees and ash. Ater the blaze was contained and the charred earth
began to cool, another disaster was set in motion. The damage rom the re was so intensethat the deeply rooted trees could not hold the soil. Debris and ash poured down the moun-
tains clogging streams, rivers and lakes – wreaking havoc on the Los Alamos water supply
and causing over usd 9 million in damage.
In the Four Corners states o the southwestern United States – Arizona, Colorado, New
Mexico and Utah – climate change is already changing ecosystems and aecting people in
ways that are measurable and readily apparent. In act, this arid region has been identied as
a bellwether o climate change in North America due to recent ecological changes – unchar-
acteristically large and severe res, widespread insect outbreaks, orest dieback, and other
signs o ecological degradation – that are associated with changing temperature, precipita-
tion and stream fow regimes. This suite o ecological changes threatens ecosystem servicesand natural resource-based industries including arming, ranching, nature tourism and
outdoor recreation, resulting in estimated annual losses o usd billions per year.
This solution includes orest restoration activities that comprise non-commercial mechani-
cal thinning o small-diameter trees, controlled burns to reintroduce the low-severity
ground res that historically maintained orest health, and comprehensive ecological moni-
toring to determine eects o these treatments on orest and stream habitats, plants,
animals, habitats and soils.
This project to secure water or city users is supported by a strong local science-management
partnership and based on extensive ecological research. The Southwest Climate Change
Initiative, led by tnc, is a public-private partnership developed in 2009 with the University
o Arizona Climate Assessment or the Southwest, Wildlie Conservation Society, National
Center or Atmospheric Research, and Western Water Assessment. The initiative’s goal is to
provide inormation and tools to build resilience in ecosystems and communities o the
south-westernu.s.
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EffEctivE
participation ofcivil sociEty,knowlEdgE sharing,
Equity and povErty rEductionto facE thE challEngEof watEr basEd climatE changEadaptation
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introduction
The impact of climate change is a complex issue that represents a new challenge for
the management and development of water resources, since in the region of the
Americas, the impacts aect disproportionately certain countries and social groups
that do not have the capacity to face these impacts. Water management should design
measures that help to minimize the vulnerability of the population that suers themost from these impacts.
lead author: nathalie seguin, anmexchaptEr 5
5.1
In the Americas poverty reduction should be placed at thecenter of these water-related strategies to achieve successfulclimate change adaptation.
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1. te ee e,
e e e ee e.
2. r e e eee e e e e e e
e e e e e ee.3. te e ee
ee e e eee.
4. te e e e ee e.
5. seee e e - ee e ee, e.
6. a eforts be linked and harmonized
e e eee, e, e e.
7. p e eee e eee e ee.
As mentioned in the previous chapter, poverty reduction should be placed at the center o these water-related strategies to achieve successul climate change adaptation, and or thatpurpose, it is necessary that:
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1.2Climate change imposes a real necessity or close coordination, not only between the dier-ent levels o government, but also between a very large range o social actors, relevant orwater resources, such as: the communities aected, civil society organizations, research anddevelopment centers, among others, in order to take part in water policy, rom the designand technology transer to the implementation and monitoring o water-related policies,emphasizing the involvement o women and marginalized groups o society.
5.2
The process of water-based adaptation to climate change oers important challenges
in terms of social organization, implying the need for sustained eorts to be made to establish
eective coordination, collaboration and social participation mechanisms.
public policy rEcommEndation 8 of thE rpd
thE contribution of civil sociEty to improvEdwatEr govErnancE
This need or coordination, collaboration and participation to ace climate change requiresthe articulation between relevant public policies, mainly related to the issues o poverty,sustainable development, the environment, health, ood, water and sanitation. In order toace the impacts o climate change, it is necessary to responsibly implement a “multi-level
governance” and an “inclusive governance”, as new orms or practices o government andsocial organization. The implementation o these measures should be ocused on:
– Fostering and sustaining coordination and collaboration between dierent stakeholdersthat are relevant in the climate change adaptation process, including the voice and theneeds o those most aected by the impact o climate change.
– Seeking coherence in the deinition o objectives and synergies in sectorial and inter-sectorial policy actions regarding climate change adaptation, aiming to comply with theprinciples o equity and poverty reduction.
– Achieving ‘vertical integration’ between the dierent tiers o government (ederal, stateand local), meaning a close coordination between these levels, accompanied by an appro-
priate and clear distribution o dierentiated responsibilities, generation o commensura-ble capacities to assume these responsibilities and the corresponding budgetary lines; eachagency complying with its responsibility, rom the dierent tiers government; and havingcontinuity in the actions initiated based on monitoring and evaluation.
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– Achieving “horizontal integration” between dierent social actors, through the creationand organization o dierent institutional arrangements that respect the mechanisms o inclusion and social participation, as well as their results. In this respect, social participa-tion should be achieved not merely as an inormative act, but should be articulated in sucha way that it contributes to the planning, design and monitoring o water managementand climate change adaptation and mitigation actions, so as to lead to collective responsi-
bility as well as the appropriation and maintenance o the inrastructure and operation o actions undertaken.
– Recognizing existing social arrangements, such as community-based management o natural resources, which have proven to be an option to manage water in a democratic andsustainable way, responding to the needs o climate change adaptation.
– Strengthening these community structures that allow not just water to be preserved, butalso orests and their biodiversity, through the generation o capacities in order to improvetheir eciency, their scope and their sustainability.
It is thus relevant to recognize that an inclusive governance is appropriate to ace an issue
that is as complex as climate change adaptation, and that civil society plays an important rolein consolidating inclusive governance, meaning that it is urgent to build the appropriateinstitutional and social conditions that lead to eective coordination, collaboration, verticaland horizontal integration processes within our political communities in charge o manage-ment and developing water resources.
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inclusivE govErnancE and thE managEmEntof sharEd rEsourcEs
Many communities in the Americas region have developed mechanisms that acilitatecollective action or the use and management o natural resources, some o which allow thecreation o local, robust institutions that render their evaluation and adaptation more fexi-
ble when aced with a changing environment.
It is clear that communities do not act alone but in interaction with various levels o bodies(ocial programs, governments, civil society organizations, churches, etc.), establishingpolycentric relationships, which in some cases contribute eectively to the quest or sustain-ability. It is or this reason that it is essential that these organizations are recognized and canbe strengthened within a legal ramework that acknowledges them and assigns budgets.
It is a act that Integrated Water Resources Management (iwrm) systematically involvesshared planning and implementation o actions to build and improve inrastructure, as wellas institutional strengthening and capacity generation actions, and that both are important
in the process o water-based climate change adaptation. It is also a act that it is urgent tomake greater eorts to achieve urther institutionalization, responsibility and implementa-tion o the principles o iwrm in the region, and to take measures to complement it withother methodologies – such as Strategic Environmental Assessment and Ecological LandManagement – with the aim o making it more eective to attend the challenges imposed by climate change.
In this sense, community-based water management has shown that it goes urther and doesnot just use the catchment as the basis o its water-related planning, but also integrates inthat vision the management o soil and common resources.
5.2.1
Civil society plays an important role in consolidatinginclusive governance.
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participatory and community-basEd planning on l andusE and risk managEmEnt as an adaptation mEchanism
Planning processes on the use o community territories, be they sel-managed or accompa-
nied by external agents, when they integrate the objectives o sustainable conservation,restoration and use o natural resources, can contribute in numerous ways to both adapta-tion and mitigation o the eects o climate change. Every day new examples come to light o communities that advance with planned actions to reorest or protect areas o natural vege-tation, stop erosion, conserve soil or saeguard springs. Among the most outstanding casesin Mexico are Tilantongo in the mixteca region o Oaxaca where an area was reorested thatwas considered desertied; the area o Tehuacán, Puebla, with rainwater harvesting andother appropriate technologies to ace the reduction in water resources, and the centralmountain region o Guerrero with a community-based water management project “Sharedwater or all”. In Central America, we can mention the case o the acomdap community board in the municipality o Usulután in El Salvador (see below), and the case o capacity
development in Panama or local integrated management or risks, water, the environment,climate change and ood and nutritional security in the catchments o the Indio and Pacorarivers. These community-based eorts through which collective action makes it possible toimprove substantially the land conditions and the resilience o ecosystems, thus al low abetter adaptation to the impacts o climate variability.
5.2.2
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implEmEntation of thE climatE changE adaptationmEchanism by thE watEr board miraclE of god associationfor communal dEvElopmEnt, administrator of thEdrinking watEr systEm in thE la pEña canton (acomdap),in thE dEpartmEnt of usulután, El salvador.
The acomdap has implemented a climate change adaptation mechanism to increase thelevels o water inltration in the Usulután hill, to prevent foods, soil degradation, crop lossand to ensure drinking water supply or human consumption or 700 amilies (approxi-mately 3,500 people) in 14 communities in the Peña canton. The hill zone was assigned or water recharge, so every year the community meets in order tocarry out dierent maintenance or cleaning tasks, as well as ruit tree planting, orest ellingcontrol, or ditch cleaning and building to acilitate inltration.
The acomdap has proven to be a powerul agent rom which dierent actions can be initi-
ated or local development. Within the activities carried out by the Water Board is the train-ing or the members o the organization and in general or the community, constantly train-ing men and women leaders capable o administering the system and managing new anddierent resources or their community, boosting community participation, environmen-tal co-responsibility and integrated water resources management.
A real management o the micro-catchment is carried out as an integral part o the imple-mentation o rural drinking water systems, in which the catchment is recognized as theplanning unit and each armer’s plantation as the management units, recognizing thatconservationist works and practices contribute to better water in both quality and quantity.
The capacity to organize themselves, the tenacity, the clarity o objectives, the attitude andwil lingness to serve o the community leadership, training in human capital and use o social capital are all key to the success o poor communities in the access to and manage-ment o water.
Community-based eorts through which collective action makes it possible to improve substantially the land conditions and the resilience of ecosystems,allow a better adaptation to the impacts of climate variability
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financing watEr for all
Financing schemes can only be eective i the amounts are appropriate; they respond topreviously designed actions with the participation o all stakeholders in the dierent levels o their responsibility; are distributed through open, transparent and democratic mecha-nisms; and specically take into account the vulnerability o communities and the ways in
which these communities ace this vulnerability. It is thus essential to establish transparent,democratic, socially equitable and inclusive budgets.
Financing to increase the capacity to adapt to climate change is urgent; urthermore it isknown that investments in integrated water management – being understood in its wholecycle – are investments in climate change adaptation and mitigation. However the speedrequired to ace climate variability is leading to actions that are not thoroughly thoughtthrough, and which do not consider institutionality nor local rights. This can result in thepoor being unprotected and those who contribute to polluting and deoresting beingrewarded. For this reason, the investments available to ace climate change should be poten-tial ly oriented towards water management, as long as the aspects o conservation o the
resources, o ecosystems and their biodiversity, public participation, risk reduction andpoverty reduction are ensured.
5.3
In the development of water-based climate change adaptation policies,
it is important to explicitly consider equity and poverty alleviation measures.
public policy rEcommEndation 4 of thE rpd
I nancing has been a bottleneck in the past or drinking water and wastewater collectionand treatment service providers, the lack o integrated and socially responsible nancialschemes will weaken societies’ capacity in the uture to adapt to climate change. On the onehand, instruments are required that have the greatest capacity to reduce the population’svulnerability, reducing the great disparity in the distribution o wealth that exists in theregion, and on the other hand they must respect the criteria o sustainability and the humanright to water and sanitation to generate environmental and social resilience. One o theseinstruments may be micronance, which has proven to be an eective instrument to reachthe most vulnerable segments o society while oering an instrument to combat poverty,developing cooperative business opportunities, which are tailor-made or the needs thatshould be attended to in communities, or the benet o the populations themselves.
As has already been mentioned, community-based water management in Latin America is asystem that has a broad scope in remote and marginalized communities, providing 80,000 communities in Latin America with drinking water. As a result o its organizational struc-ture, it ullls local regulation and the articulation o actions aimed at eective climatechange adaptation and mitigation. Since these institutions are created by the users o thenatural resources themselves, they not only reduce the transaction costs or monitoring,surveillance and nes or those who do not comply with the management agreements, butalso provide more precise and timely inormation about changes in status o the resources.
It is essentialto establish
transparent,democratic,sociallyequitableand inclusivebudgets.
The speed requiredto face climate variabilityis leading to actionsout are not thoroughlythought through,0and do not considerinstitutionality nor localrights.
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swash+ sustaining school watEr, sanitation and hygiEnEplus community impact, in thE copalita watErshEd,oaxaca, mExico, by sarar transformación, s.c. (sarar-t)
One o the strongest barriers to the sustainability o drinking water and sanitation and
climate change adaptation is the general lack o awareness and inormation about themedium – and long – term eects o present trends o conventional practices, and knowl-edge o alternative, aordable, environmentally riendly approaches. Through local capacity development, Sarar-T has introduced and ostered the uptake o alternative dry sanitationsystems, a previously uncommon technology in schools o the region, which conserves waterand keep waste out o waterways – measures that have a strong impact on human health andschool attendance as well as the health o ecosystems, which are important to reduce thepopulation’s vulnerability to climate change. To multiply the impact o these measuresthroughout the communities, Sarar-T trains students, administrators and parent commit-tees to act as agents o change or water, sanitation and basic hygiene, bringing lessons andtechnologies to the greater community.
A rst step in the Sarar-T swash+ program was a participatory assessment o 17 schools in 3 rural districts o the upper Copalita watershed, in order to provide critical inormation ordeveloping a coherent 3-year strategy. These assessments identied both physical and behav-ioral aspects o the schools’ environments. The program recognizes the school’s potential asa catalytic element within the community. By involving al l schools within each o thecommunities, the program aims to generate a critical mass o the population who will adaptand use environmentally-riendly, closed-loop sanitation acilities within their livingenvironments.
The program has been particularly attentive in addressing the needs o distinct groups o
users; and, in eect, has designed and installed acilities, and provided targeted training ornot only distinct gender groups, but also gives particular attention to the specic needs o children in preschool, primary and secondary schools; and has been developing educationalmaterial and simple monitoring schemes.
It is estimated that the amount o water that is being conserved per year in the swash+program with over 2,000 students attending the 17schools is 2,800 m3, which has importantimplications in wastewater reduction. On an annual basis, up to 1,500 m3 o greywater isbeing used as “reclaimed water” or irrigation purposes. With the dry sanitation schoolsystems in place, it is estimated that up to 600 kg o nitrogen, 75k o phosphorous and 140kgo potassium will be captured and which, instead o destroying natural water bodies, will be
providing valuable nutrients to the soil ecosystems.
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Consolidating such a structure is a valuable measure that should be recognized, meaningthat the investment that the community has carried out should be assessed and strength-ened. It is important to invest in these structures by developing capacities and knowledge inorder to be able to improve their technical and administrative eciency and knowledgeabout conlict management, among many other orms and needs. Community-basedmanagement represents a low-cost strategic investment since it already has a counterpart
invested by the community.
communication and information for anEnabling EnvironmEnt
5.4
5.4.1formal institutionalization of thE issuEof watEr-basEd climatE changE adaptation and mitigationin acadEmic curriculums at diffErEnt Educational lEvEls:
primary, middlE school and highEr Education.
Given that the issue o water-based climate change adaptation is complex and requiresmulti-disciplinary and inter-disciplinary processes to be tackled, it is considered highly relevant to transorm educational models o proessional training in the community (academic, training and continuing education) to avor this systematic means o thinkingand acting. It is thus an issue o training individuals with capacities to communicate exten-sively and to ace complex problems related not only with climate change and its derivedconcepts (mitigation, adaptation, vulnerability, etc.), but also with sustainable developmentin general or social wellbeing with equity. In this sense, it is relevant to instigate pilotprograms and study plans at all educational levels in the region, with the aim o objectively
putting together curricular programs and carrying out massive training programs onclimate change rom the perspective o poverty eradication and the recognition o culturaldiversity as a key element in the training o new sector proessionals.
Community-based water management in Latin Americais a system that has a broad scope in remote and marginalizedcommunities, providing 80,000 communities in LatinAmerica with drinking water.
Transform educational models of professional training in the communityto favor systematic means of thinking and acting.
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intEr-cultural univErsity of southErn villagEs (unisur,mExico) – indigEnous community adaptation, Equity and
povErty rEduction initiativE Theunisur is a higher education institution, which came about upon the initiative o nativepeoples (Nauas, Mixtec, Tlapanecos, Amuzgos and Aro-Mexican) in the state o Guerrero,Mexico. The initiative stemmed rom a group o community leaders who, aced with thecomplex issues o the indigenous regions, initiated a community refection process demand-ing their rights to health, education and justice. A group o university academics were invitedto take part in this process. The initiative illustrates the collaboration and the exchange o knowledge that can be brought about between academia and indigenous communities orthe quest or adaptation alternatives to a changing climate. Its objective is to train youngproessionals in the communities, rom their cultural mold but with an inter-cultural
perspective, which means that their ormative process is ocused on the understanding andresolution o local problems. In its our years o academic work, the program has beensustained without public resources thanks to the solidarity support o the communities andthe collaboration o academics, institutions and organizations.
The university oers three bachelor degrees: Language, Culture and Memory, LandGovernment and Community Environmental Management. As a cross-disciplinary visionis promoted, currently there are groups o students coming rom the three courses carryingout their research on the impact o climate change on water in their region or communities,which allows an integrated approach. The idea is to nd innovative options thought out by the social actors themselves, considering technical aspects, related to culture and the world-
view, and governance rom local institutions.
The work o a university such as unisur allow governments to boost the impact o theirinvestment programs in indigenous and Aro-Mexican regions, which is why it is importantthat the work carried out up to now is recognized, strengthened and replicated in othercountries in the region that have indigenous populations.
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support for rEsEarch, data monitoring and knowlEdgEgEnEration about climatE changE
It is important to support research, data monitoring and knowledge generation on thecauses and eects o climate change related with water management and sanitation, alsotaking into account research and studies derived rom social resilience and adaptation
processes, as well as the experience and knowledge o communities on these eects.
Knowledge about climate change and global warming have been developing over the lasttwo decades, being increasingly obvious through, on the one hand, the generation o convincing data and, on the other, the impacts o climate variability on practically a llsectors. The knowledge generated has been piling up, making the eects o current varia-bility and the uture threat o climate change ever more obvious or the public-at-large anddecision makers, which will tend to have ever increasing impacts i appropriate measuresare not taken.
One o the main challenges when dealing with this global problem has been to achieve
good social communication and the construction o a language that acilitates communi-cation between scientic, economic and social disciplines, which interact in one way oranother on the issue. Another diculty reers to the lack o understandable and consensualconcepts to explain, through dierent mechanisms o dissemination, the co-responsibility to ace climate change among the public-at-large; and the development o concepts thatallow stakeholders and decision makers to understand the long-term implications o climate change.
5.4.2
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communication and EffEctivE dissEmination appliEd tothE contExt of climatE changE
The question o consensus o concepts to achieve a better understanding between the scien-tic communities, specialists with recognized practices, stakeholders, decision makers andsociety-at-large is undamental or any action related with the resilience and sustainability
o ecological and social systems worldwide.
In recent decades in events around the world, it has been oten repeated that inormation,knowledge and prior, ree and inormed social participation are vital elements to guaranteethat the countries in the Americas nd development alternatives, according to their social-environmental, economic and political context.
In our region it is necessary to recognize the prevailing broad gap between society and scien-tiic knowledge and the social-environmental impacts derived rom climate change.Communication processes are thus required that allow the public-at-large to acquire objec-tive knowledge on the climate situation, its causes and consequences.
5.4.3
actions for prEvEntion and adaptation. analysisof thE impact of climatE variability and changE in coastalarEas on both sidEs of thE sourcEs of thE la plata rivEr
(uruguay and argEntina)
In September 2011, the International Institute or Environment and Development (iied-al)in Argentina and the Sociedad Amigos del Viento (sa del v) in Uruguay launched thisproject with the aim o increasing knowledge and strengthening the capacities o localgovernments and civil society organizations through the design o adaptation and local riskmanagement policies under climate change and climate variability scenarios, on both sideso the sources o the La Plata river and the Parana delta.
The project seeks to identiy and analyze the climate-related, hydrological and atmosphericthreats, in the areas o the study; outline prospective scenarios o the impact o climate
change and climate variability and estimate the economic impact o adaptation measuresunder each o the scenarios. During the three years o the project’s implementation, theperception o the dierent stakeholders o environmental risk and adaptation measureswere also analyzed, and actions and guidelines or local risk management and adaptationdesigned, jointly with the local authorities and civil society organizations.
It is necessary to recognize the prevailing broad gap betweensociety and scientic knowledge and the social-environmentalimpacts derived from climate change.
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boost thE participation of sociEty to facE climatE changE
To help generate awareness and acilitate the participation o society based on inorma-tion and knowledge on the issue and its alternative solutions, it is necessary to implementa regional communication plan that establishes the procedures o dissemination o specialized and concerted inormation by specialists in the question o climate change,
taking into account that water issues are only one o those that can be listed under thedirect eects o the processes o this phenomenon. Similarly, with the aim o strengthen-ing local adaptation capacities and o promoting climate change mitigation actions, it isnecessary to adopt a social adaptation ocus, supported by ecient communication andinclusive participation mechanisms.
Environmental scientists and natural resources managers are increasingly aware that today’senvironmental problems require inter-disciplinary and multi-ocus solutions. The develop-ment o scientic knowledge is thus required, but also the recognition o cultural diversity and the knowledge that these cultures possess, awareness about the reality o the environ-ment o our peoples and the boosting o their participation in adaptation plans.
5.4.4
The development of scientic knowledge is required,but also the recognition of cultural diversity and the knowledgethat these cultures possess, awareness about the realityof the environment of our peoples and the boosting of theirparticipation in adaptation plans.
Indeed, the structuring o climate change science in public discourse is coming undergreater scrutiny rom communication sciences and other social disciplines. Understandinghow communication and its eects take root on the awareness o the population-at-large is amulti-disciplinary task that challenges the relationship between the scientic communica-tor and the public-at-large. These are priority aspects on which the mitigation and water-based climate change adaptation agenda should ocus in the short term.
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traditional Erosion control and intEgratEd watErmanagEmEnt practicEs on plots and micro-catchmEntsrEvEal knowlEdgE that facilitatEs adaptationto climatE variations
Peasants know and use a wide range o technologies to harvest water, conserve soil humidity and optimize irrigation, as well as to reduce loods, erosion and nutrient leaching whenprecipitation increases. This knowledge also becomes a tool to increase the resilience and toreduce the vulnerability o rural areas to the eects o climate change.
From Pre-Hispanic times, terraces and berms o various types have been built, using localmaterials and plants such as maguey or small trees, to retain humidity, reduce erosion andcreate new spaces or crops. Channels, small dams and ditches are also built to direct water andsediments to plots or ar rom them, and to decrease the speed o currents in ravines. Traditionalirrigation systems with ditches and pantlesmake use o rainwater with energy eciency. Raisedelds, ridges and chinampas (foating gardens) are examples o ancestral systems that allow
intensive and diversied production with soil temperature and water level control.
At the other extreme, in water-scarce territories, the Bajío huamiles allowed the little humid-ity present under volcanic rocks to be conserved. Among the older generation o the Mixtecaregion o Oaxaca, some still know how to grow corn in cajetes, holes in the ground, whosehigh productivity is achieved through an optimal management o the humidity retained inthe soil by the selsamecajeteo (digging small ditches around plants to retain water).
Traditional practices and knowledge becoms a toolto increase the resilience and to reduce the vulnerabilityof rural areas to the eects of climate change.
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thE wayahEad
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The multitude o experiences to adapt to the challenges o climate change, both those presented in thisdocument, and more broadly in the wateraaa inventory, illustrate that the water community in theAmericas is taking action and has developed coherent strategies to ace climate change. The present docu-ment will orm an important input to the discussions at the 6th World Water Forum in Marseilles in March2012 and will be taken to the United Nations Conerence or Sustainable Development in Rio de Janeiro inJune 2012, commonly reerred to as Rio+20, providing the basis or discussions on the topic rom the
perspective o the Americas at these two events. Designed to illustrate solutions in the region, the documentaims to broaden the discussion and serves as an invitation to others who would like to share their experi-ences in order to (a) add to the richness o activities carried out, (b) oster collaboration within the Americasand with other regions, and (c) take orth to other processes and events the cross-cutting nature o waterissues and its ability to provide solutions to sustainable development challenges.
The inputs received at a number o events held in 2010 and 2011, and through a process o public consulta-tion, have allowed the document to be developed in an inclusive manner to refect the current thinking onthe issue rom a wide variety o stakeholders, and a broad spectrum o lessons learnt on the subject to beshared. The response options detailed throughout the document highlight capacities and approaches takenin dierent parts o the Americas. While providing a glimpse o the diversity o the region, the topics
discussed and the solutions put orward underline the existing capacity in many parts o the region toconront the challenges climate change poses. The realities o how water is managed show that it cannot bemanaged as a stand-alone sector but needs to be viewed as a key ingredient in working towards a trulysustainable development. Many eorts in the region point to the act that actions are being taken that ocusnot only on present but also on uture generations and take a holistic view o the environment. Some o thecommitments actors in the region are taking, such as the provision o usd 27 million or the creation o atleast 32 additional water unds, the launch o the Prize or Water and Adaptation Actions and the establish-ment o new water reserves provide a glimpse o the many initiatives realized in the uture.
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The challenge o scaling up successul practices and adapting them to the context o thedierent parts o the region remains. By continuing the activities under the two targetsbeyond the 6th World Water Forum and Rio+20, the rpd commits itsel to enhance proac-tive adaptation measures that take water resources as their starting point, as well as tosupport the integration o these measures into national development planning in a morecoherent way. Looking ahead, the rpdhopes to continue the accumulation o relevant expe-
riences and we would like to invite you, the reader, to contribute with your knowledge to thewateraaa Inventory at www.aguaaaa.org/. Bottom-up solutions that are replicable andmay be upscaled serve as a complement to the ongoing eorts in the Americas to adapt legalrameworks at dierent levels to holistically consider the impacts o climate change on waterresources, as evidenced through some o the innovative solutions presented in this docu-ment, and will eed into the continued debate within the rpdprocess.
The topics discussed and the solutions put forward underlinethe existing capacity in many parts of the region to confront the challengesclimate change poses.
We would like to invite you, the reader, to contribute with yourknowledge to the WaterAAA Inventory at www.aguaaaa.org.
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acronyms
agwaAlliance or Global Water Adaptation
canAndean Community
ciClimate Investment Funds
cimhCaribbean Institute o Meteorology and Hydrology
copConerence o the Parties
d4wccDialogs or Water and Climate Change
eclacEconomic Commission or Latin America and the Caribbean
ensoEl Niño and La Niña Southern Oscillation
gdpGross Domestic Product
geGlobal Environmental Facility
gcsGlobal Framework or Climate Services
ghgGreenhouse Gases
gis
Geographic Inormation SystemipccIntergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
iwrmIntegrated Water Resources Management
lacLatin America and the Caribbean
ldcLeast Developed Countries Fund,
mdbsMulti-Lateral Development Banks
prizeaaaPrize or Water and Adaptation Actions
rpdRegional Policy Dialog on Water and Climate Change Adaptationin the Americas
sccStrategic Climate Change Funds;
smartSpecic, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time-bound
spiStandard Precipitation Index
unUnited Nations
uncccUnited Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
wateraaaInventory o Water and Adaptation Actions in the AmericaswiseWide Involvement Stakeholder Exchange
wmoWorld Meteorological Organization
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glossary of tErms
adaptation to climate change: “Initiatives and measures to reduce the vulnerability o natural andhuman systems against actual or expected climate change eects”. (ipcc, 2007).
current climate variability: Reers to the changes in the climate registered in recent years, especially as
regards the increase in extreme events such as droughts and foods, beyond the uncertainty about whetherthe changes in the climate are o anthropogenic or natural origin.
environmental fows: Reer to the regime o water supplied within a river, wetland or coastal zone tomaintain ecosystems and the benets they provide to populations.
integrated water resources management (iwrm): “iwrm is the coordinated development andmanagement o water, land and related resources in order to maximise economic and social welare withoutcompromising the sustainability o ecosystems and the environment” (Global Water Partnership,2000).
local climate change scenarios: Reer to local projections o global climate change scenarios, drawn
up by the ipcc, to establish the adaptation and mitigation measures necessary to reach long-term goals,beyond the certainties and uncertainties o the models in their global and local projections.
mitigation:“Technological change and substitution that reduce resource inputs and emissions per unit o output. Although several social, economic and technological policies would produce an emission reduc-tion, with respect to climate change, mitigation means implementing policies to reduce greenhouse gasemissions and enhance sinks.” (ipcc, 2007)
“no regrets”: Actions that reduce the vulnerability to possible uture extreme water phenomena, butwhich are justied even without the climate change scenario occurring.
public policy: The attempt to determine and structure the rational basis or action or non-action acedwith issues considered public. Dye (1992) stated that it is “whatever governments choose to do or not to do,or what reason and with what eect”. Lasswell (1950) reerred to public policy as supposing the idea o thepublic as a dimension o human activity regulated by governmental action.
resilience: “The ability o a social or ecological system to absorb disturbances while retaining the samebasic structure and ways o unctioning, the capacity or sel-organisation, and the capacity to adapt to stressand change.” (ipcc, 2007).
risk: A result o the expected impact, the probability o its occurrence and vulnerability.
threat: The probability that an event will occur in a given time and space, with sucient intensity toproduce damage.
vulnerability:“The inability to resist a hazard or to respond when a disaster has occurred.” (unisdr).
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This Regional Policy Dialog is an open and ongoing eort, in whichall comments, contributions, suggestions and/or oers o supportare welcome. I you are interested in taking part in this eort in someway, please eel ree to contact and interact with us through theollowing communication means.
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