Water and Climate Change in The Americas

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)



WATERAND CLIMATE

CHANGEADAPTATIONIN THEAMERICASSOLUTIONSFROM THE REGIONAL POLICYDIALOG (RPD)



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([email protected]), 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



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.




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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.




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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.


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.


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.


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.


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

v.



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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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22

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.



26

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?



27

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.



28

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.



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.



30

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.



31

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



32

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.



33

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.



Climate

ServiCeS in theameriCaS:infraStruCture

and information foradaptation to ClimateChange



35

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.



36

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.



37

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.



38

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:



39

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.



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.



41

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.





43

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.



44

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.



45

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.



46

– 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.



47

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.



48

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



49

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.



50

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).



51

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.





53

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.



54

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.



55

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.





57

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.



58

EcosystEm

sErvicEsin thE adaptivEmanagEmEntof watErrEsourcEs



59

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.



60

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.



61

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.



62

Climate change poses a new challengeto water management, but there is no needfor a new process.



63

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).



64

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.



65

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.



66

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



67

To build reliable and eective institutions capable

of recognizing or developing legitimate and transparentprocesses.



68

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.



69

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



70

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].



71

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.



72

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.



73

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.



74

Integrated

WaterresourcesManageMent



75

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



76

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.



To adapt eectively to climate chanewill reqire a bet ter water manaementthat incldes a combination of “hard”

(infrastrctre) and “soft” (instittional)measures.



78

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.



79

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.



80

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



81

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.



82

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.



83

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.



84

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.



85

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.



86



87

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.



88

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.





90

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.



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.



92

Water-based

adaptationto climate changein cities



93

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



94

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.



95

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.



96

A shared vision is needed to develop adaptation alternatives that are sociallydesirable, socio-economic viable and practically achievable.



97

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



98

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.



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.



100

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.



– 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.



102

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



103

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.





105

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.



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.

106





108

EffEctivE

participation ofcivil sociEty,knowlEdgE sharing,

Equity and povErty rEductionto facE thE challEngEof watEr basEd climatE changEadaptation



109

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.



110

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:



111

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.



112

– 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.



113

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.



114

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



115

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



116

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



125

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.



128

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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Urbanising World, Earthscan, London, UK.

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McGranahan, G., Balk, D., and B. Anderson (2007), Cambio Climtico y

Asentamientos Humanos en Zonas Costeras de baja Altitud en América Latina y el Caribe, IIED-AL, Medio Ambiente y UrbanizaciónNo67, p.p. 5–24.

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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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Water and Climate Change in The Americas

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