Climate Change and Adaptation Challenges in Water and

Agriculture Sectors in South Asia

South Asian Parliamentarians and Policymaker’s at Work: Putting Climate Change Adaptation, Food

Security, Population Dynamics Back in the Agenda- Sub Regional Conference

Priyanka Dissanayake- Regional CoordinatorGWP South Asia – APAN Thematic Node Water

December 17, Islamabad , Pakistan

•13 Regional Water Partnerships • 84 Country Water Partnerships (around 70 in 2009)• 2,820 institutional Partners in 167 countries (around 2000 in 2009

A growing international network since 1996

GWP –South Asia (APAN Thematic Node –Water)

Regional Office –Hosted by International Water Management Institute (IWMI), Sri LankaSix CWPsBWP (Bangladesh)BhWP (Bhutan)GWP Nepal IWP (India)PWP (Pakistan)SLWP (Sri Lanka)www.gwpsouthasia.org

GWP –South Asia

The aim of Global Water Partnership South Asia (GWP SAS) is to support South Asian countries in the sustainable development and management of their water resources and to fully promote and apply an Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) approach at the community, national and regional levels.

IWRM provides a holistic approach to integrating water resources management within the broader environmental, socio-economic and political framework, and provides a basis of improved coordination amongst all stakeholders for planning and managing water resources at the river basin level.

The Challenge in South Asia

• 4% of the World’s land area 23% of global population• Possesses about 4.5% of the water resources• one in five people in South Asia still lack improved water

sources• Water Security Index 1.6 – South Asia less secure• highest regional Global Hunger Index score indicating

highest levels of hunger among population 40 %of the world’s hungry

• Least Food-secure Sub-region • highest concentration of undernourished and poor

people• high economic growth• high urban growth • low access to energy.• The resources are considerably stressed (even without climate change) • .

Climate Change in South AsiaObserved Changes

• Increase in Temperature – in varying degrees• Changes in the south Asia monsoon system-

precipitation amounts, timing and spatial distribution

• Increase in extreme climate events – increased floods and droughts

• Changes in Mean Annual Runoff changes in water available for agriculture, industrial and domestic use

• Rapid melting of snow, ice and Glaciers – Glacial lake outbursts

www.iwmi.org

Water for a food-secure world

Observed Changes –Annual Precipitation

Trend in Annual Precipitation, 1979 – 2005 as a % of 1961-1990 Average

Positive: Sri Lanka

Negative: Pakistan, Bangladesh and India

Source: lPCC Technical Paper VI

www.iwmi.org

Water for a food-secure world

Observed Changes – Annual Runoff

Increases in some places and decreases in others

No clear trend

Trend in Annual Runoff, 1971-1998 as a % of 1900-1970 Average reconstructed by climate models

Source: Milly et al. 2005

www.iwmi.org

Water for a food-secure world

Observed Changes – Drought Severity

Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI) for 1900 to 2002

Increasing droughts seen in South Asia

Source: Dai et al. 2004

www.iwmi.org

Water for a food-secure world

Projected Changes – Annual Runoff

Change in Annual Runoff in 2090-2099 relative to 1980-1999

Positive: Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, India, parts of Nepal and Bhutan

Negative: Pakistan and Afghanistan

Source: Milly et al. 2005

The Water Challenges in South Asia

1.Climate Change Adaptation in Water and Agriculture sectors2.Water Related Disaster Coping and Disaster Preparedness (Floods and Droughts main focus)3.Water Management Agricultural Productivity and Food Security4.Trans-boundary Water Issues5.Over exploitation of Ground Water and Ground Water Depletion and Ground Water Quality6. Rapid Urbanization , Water Supply (Drinking Water) , Sanitation and Wastewater Management7. Inadequate capacity at the field/grass root level to address water challenges (River Basin and Lower level Organizations)8.Inadequate use of Information Technology/Media in the water sector9. Rain Water Harvesting - Inadequate Storage and maintain the quality of the harvested water10. Energy Security and its impacts on Water and Food Security, Hydropower development and river degradation

Current planning and management have proven insufficient to address the challenges of meeting society’s diverse needs for water

Agriculture in South Asia• A major part of South Asian agriculture is managed by

smallholder farmers –Vulnerable• Most threatened- Rain-fed farmers

Water Security for CCA in South Asia

• Safeguard sustainable access to adequate quantities of and acceptable quality water

• Sustaining livelihoods, human well-being, and socio-economic development

• Ensuring protection against water-borne pollution and water-related disasters

• Preserving ecosystems in a climate of peace and political stability

Adaptation and the Way forward

• Climate science and the projections of its various impacts are at an early stage of development in the region

• Research Technology Gaps -Access to climate data, their management, and forecasting and modeling capacity are constraints

• South Asia is among the most data-rich regions of the developing world and is well endowed with considerable analytical capacity for providing policy inputs – a capacity that has yet to be fully mobilized for effective policy and institutional responses

water supply per person for individual river basins projections for 2025 WRI

Water Co-operation in CCA Adaptation in South Asia

• Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal and Pakistan share 20 major rivers

• Weak linkages, data exchange coordination and communications among stakeholders

Water Co-operation in CCA Adaptation in South Asia

• South Asia’s river systems – highly dependent on cyclical rainfall from monsoons and glacial melt from the high Himalayas – that are especially vulnerable to climate change

• Water co-operation: Across sectors and borders for the efficient and sustainable use of water – International Year Water Co-operation 2013

• Requires mediation and dispute resolution for water sharing between countries and communities – Many Treaties

• Water Cooperation for Early Warning –Starting Point? REGIONAL INTERVENTION

Adaptation and the Way Forward

• Look for “no regrets” interventions catering to current development needs too. Eg: restoration of Sri Lanka’s ancient tank storage system.

• Promoting Increased rain water harvesting • Safe reuse of wastewater• Promote Coordination and data sharing among water sector

agencies• Increased data generation through the use of remote sensing

technology• Regional climate modelling to better understand the climate

in the region • Build adaptive capacity through infrastructure development

and income diversification

Inadequate Capacity to Address Water Challenges

• Are our capacities adequate to address the requirements and expectations of national policies and national strategies on climate change?• What are the public expectations, and are our responses adequate?• Is there sufficient policy support to improve the capacities of the water sector institutions dealing with food security?• Do we have sufficient links with local universities, to develop our capacity?• Are we linked with global climate change adaptation networks? Do we get the required information from them?• Do we have sufficient regional or global training programs? Are we using the expertise available within the region in an optimum manner?• What specific subject areas are more relevant for having training?• What can we do to improve the collaboration among institutions to improve the adaptation capacity? (local, regional and global level) • How to improve capacity at the field/grass-root level to address the water

challenges?

GWP South Asia Climate & Water Program

GWP South Asia Water & Climate Resiliency Program (DFID/WACREP) 2013 to 2015 40 activities with CWPsRegional activities with SACEP & UNDP GEFRegional interventions on transboundary activities needs to be complementary to bilateral negotiations and activities.

Thank you