Although there are many uncertainties around quantitative assessments of climate change impact and water resource management, what is certain is that the climate is changing and this will have an effect on water resources.
This case study considers the economic consequences of water resource scarcity, particularly as it relates to the poor and small municipalities. The author is concerned that, in the case of water, economic principles where price adjustments to an increasingly scarce resource will balance demand, do not apply.

Does economic activity relocate away from areas that are at high risk of recurring shocks? We examine this question in the context of floods, which are among the costliest and most common natural disasters. Over the past thirty years, floods worldwide killed more than 500,000 people and displaced over 650,000,000 people. This paper analyzes the effect of large scale floods, which displaced at least 100,000 people each, in over 1,800 cities in 40 countries, from 2003 -2008.

This paper presents possible elements of a long-term international vision for land sector reporting and accounting. The vision is of a multi-dimensional land sector reporting and accounting framework that is applicable to all countries and increases in comprehensiveness over time. The overarching objective of the framework is to build trust between Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) by tracking progress in implementation of mitigation contributions in the land sector.

This paper evaluates the costs and benefits of disaster risk reduction in the context of climate change through an analysis of case studies in India, Nepal and Pakistan. The paper focuses on water related disasters and the manner in which they may change as a consequence of climate change. The paper highlights that the evidence presenting the economic impacts of climate change and disasters is accumulating rapidly.

This book covers the whole Nile Basin and is based on the results of three major research projects supported by the Challenge Program on Water and Food (CPWF). It provides unique and up-to-date insights on agriculture, water resources, governance, poverty, productivity, upstream–downstream linkages, innovations, future plans and their implications. Specifically, the book elaborates the history, and the major current and future challenges and opportunities, of the Nile River Basin.

This paper, which focuses on the Chinyanja Triangle (CT), an area inside the Zambezi River Basin, characterises three distinct farming subsystems across rainfall gradients, namely maize-beans-fish, sorghum-millet-livestock and the livestock-dominated subsystem. It presents the socioeconomic characteristics, historical drivers of change, resources use and management (water, land, forestry) and the institutional disincentives affecting agricultural production and productivity in the region.

Southern Africa Development Communality (SADC) through its Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan (RISDP) has set up an ambitious goal to double irrigation by 2015, which it sees as important component to sustain regional development and ensure food security. While the target timeline is questionable with year 2015 fast approaching, the goal to increase irrigated areas to 7% is certainly valid and has significant implications for regional food security and livelihood of rural population.

This synthesis report summarises research on how climate finance has been spent so far, and whether or not it has been spent on improving people’s water security.

The report highlights that the global community has committed to mobilise US $100 billion every year, from 2020 onwards. The study aims to identify the type and scale of national and subnational programmes and projects that have been funded by climate finance and how they relate to local water security. Findings are summarised from three case studies in Bangladesh, Ethiopia and Zambia.

Despite the production of more food and extraction of more water globally, wetlands continue to decline and public health and living standards for many do not improve. Why is this – and what needs to change to improve the situation? If we manage wetlands better, can we improve the health and well-being of people? Indeed, why is this important? This report seeks to address these questions.

Originally Published In: Ramsar Technical Report No. 6. Geneva, Switzerland: WHO; Gland, Switzerland: Ramsar Convention Secretariat

Comprehensive yet concise report outlining the key challenges and projected demands in the global agricultural sector, from an energy-water-food nexus perspective.

The current debate on climate change, its impacts on socio-ecological systems and the role of agriculture has shifted from an emphasis on how to mitigate the effects of increasing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to how to prepare and adapt to the expected adverse impacts. This follows the recognition that the climate is already changing as a result of mankind’s activities and there is little that can be done to prevent further increases in atmospheric concentrations of GHG in the short term.

Climate change can affect water supply in Nepal by its impact on precipitation, glacier melting and increase in temperature. This study identifies the vulnerability of the water supply system in Kathmandu Valley to the impact of the worst case scenario of climate change and suggests adaptation strategies to deal with the situation. It finds that existing strategies are insufficient and more than five million people would be deprived of the minimum needed water by 2050 under the driest scenario.