Thematic Presentation

Climate Change Impacts on Water cycle and

Ecosystems

Overview

•Climaticchange willstronglyimpacts

surface and groundwater

–Quantity

–Seasonality

–Quality(aquaticecosystemsand potential

healthhazards)

•Additionalpressures on water include:

–Demographics

–Management of extremeevents(floodsand

droughts)

WATCH:Water and Global Change

Irrigated areas of the World

WATCH has developed:

•A new global (0.5 degree)

data set to drive and assess

hydrological models

•New land surface data sets

(soils, irrigation, water use

etc)

•Flood and drought catalogues

•New methodologies to assess

hydrological extremes

•The WaterMIPmodel inter-

comparison

Clim

ate change and impact research:

the Mediterranean Environment

•CIRCE:First

assessment of

climate change

impacts in the

Mediterranean

and their

consequences to

society and the

economy

•CIRCE-w

ater:

Identification of

adaptation

strategies,

support policy

1978

2008

Glacier Shorong, Nepal

HIGHNOON:

Adaptation to changing water resources availability in

Northern India with Himalayan glacier retreat and

changing m

onsoon

•Assessment of impact of Himalayan

glaciers retreat and possible changes of

the Indian summer monsoon on the

spatial and temporal distribution of

water resources of the Ganga

•Recommendations for appropriate

response strategies for adaptation to

hydrological extreme events, including

droughts, floods and glacier lakes

outburst floods

•Improvement of climate forecast skills at

regional scale

•Integration of socio-economic drivers in

climate change studies

ACQWA

ACQWA

ACQWA

ACQWA:

Vulnerability of water resources and use to climatic

changes in vulnernablemountain regions

AssessingClimate

impacts on the

Quantity

and quality

of WAter

•Projectionsby integrated earth-

system models (climate-cryosphere-

biosphere-hydrology) of changing

water patterns in mountain regions

where snow and ice are a key

component in the hydrological cycle

•Assessmentsof the impacts of

changing hydrological features on a

range of environmental (e.g., extreme

events, such as floods, droughts, and

geomorphologic hazards) and socio-

economic systems (e.g., agriculture,

energy, tourism, mining)

•Analysesof water governance in

different political contexts (Europe,

Andes, Central Asia) in order to

reduce rivalries and conflicts between

economic actors facing major changes

in water availability and quality

�New tools and approaches to understand

groundwater flow pathways using tracers and

isotopes coupled with modelling

�Pollutant leaching processes, including from

agriculture, contaminant transport mechanisms,

pollutants in groundwater

�Role of groundwater in ecosystems in

particularly related to hydrology and biodiversity

�Development of integrated modelling

approaches for groundwater management

�Numerical and other type of models for

predict impacts of climate variation and change

on groundwater hydrology, pollution pathways,

groundwater surface water interaction and

socio-economic impacts

GENESIS:

Groundwater and dependent ecosystems: New Scientific and

Technical Basis for Assessing Climate Change and Land-use Impacts

on Groundwater Systems

•to improve our understanding of how groundwater interacts within

the global water cycle, how it supports ecosystems and

humankind and, in turn, responds to the impacts of climate

change.

•to promote consideration of groundwater in the use of climate

change information as a contribution to adaptation and advancing

climate prediction;

•to initiate dialogue between groundwater and climate scientists at

the global level; and

•to raise awareness within the climate community of climate-

related groundwater research activities

GRAPHIC

Gro

undw

ate

r R

esourc

es A

ssessm

ent

under

the P

ressure

s

of H

um

anity a

nd C

lim

ate

Change

�Ecologicalrelevant thresholds and

dynamic reference conditions in streams,

riparianwetlands, and lakes.

�New systemindicators for freshwaters

sensitive to the functional response of rivers,

lakes and wetlands to changes in physical

and biogeochemical features.

�Newtools for assessing vulnerability to

climate change which take into account both

site specific threatsand threatsassociated

with connectivity, dispersal, andmigration.

�Asystem basedon model chains that will

enable water managers to design cost-

effective restoration programmesfor

freshwater ecosystems.

REFRESH

REFRESH

REFRESH

REFRESH:

Adaptive strategies to m

itigate

the impactsof

climate

changeon European freshwaterecosystems

�Characterisation of temporary streams

for the Mediterranean region and setting

of specific reference conditions for the

related ecosystems

�Testing of relevant measures and

recommendations for integrative

catchment management for floods and

drought periods

�Development of scenario analyses

examining water scarcity impacts due to

climate change and land-use change as

well as threats to ecosystems

16 p

art

ners

fro

m E

uro

pe

–In

tern

ational part

ner:

Moro

cco

MIRAGE:

Mediterranean Intermittent River Management

CC impacts on intermittent rivers

«Win the wetlandand

youwin

the river basin»

Wetlands

•Natural water infrastructure

•Adaptation to global change

•Buffering disasters

•But threatened & degrading

WETwin focus:

•Integration of wetlands into river basin

management

•Improved understanding of goods &

services for livelihood

•Evaluation of management options

•Trade-offs and vulnerability to global

change

Perspectives

and outcomes

•Research

•Policy implications

•Communication of scientific

information

Research

•Integrated models for improved system understanding, using

ensembles approaches

•Consistent analyses of the water cycle and surface and ground-water

resources for the 20thand 21stcenturies at the global and regional

scales

•Improved understanding of extremes and their direct and indirect

consequences on water availability and quality

–Floods, droughts; Slope instabilities; Glacier retreat and outburst floods

•A new understanding of land surface/clim

ate feedbacks

•Focus on the role of society and economy on water needs and water

use

•Scenario-based approaches to explore particular vulnerabilities of

water (e.g., Mediterranean, mountains, groundwater, wetlands), to

clim

atic and non-clim

atic (e.g., land-use) factors

•Projections of socio-economic drivers of changes in water resources

•Indicators to assess socio-economic, environmental and ecological

impacts of changes in freshwater resources on water system

services

•Developmentofthe science necessary to sustain freshwater

ecosystems

Policy implications

•Assessingdifferentpolicy-relevant options to reduce water deficits

within sectors and to equitably and efficiently distribute wateramong

users and sectors

•Harm

onizing the consideration of loads and non-point source

pollution control in River Basin Management Plans (RBMP)

•Supporting the integration of water scarcity management in RBMP

•Definition of whether sustainable groundwater abstraction is

possible under non-stationary hydrological conditions

•Using wetlands for restoration and flood buffering

•Recommendations for improved water governance strategies across

sectors and scales

•Recommendations of methods for integrated management of

aquatic, groundwater-dependent, and wetland ecosystems

Communication of

scientificresults

•Increased awareness about the future of Europe’s water

resources to provide support to policies and as a starting

point for water visions and strategic planning

•Inform

ation on contaminants in groundwater for the

update of the EU groundwater directive

•Integration of inputs from s

takehold

ers

at both pan-

European and river basin level to enrich storylines

development

•Inform

ation on projections and revision of water

management plans, inter alia

for the IPCC and UN-ISDR

•Web-based tools to support water scenario development

processes

Thankyoufor your

attention!

Workshop

announcement

WORKSHOP ON SCIENCE AND DATA GAPS

IN EU W

ATER-RELATED PROJECTS

Info on www.acqwa.ch, under«Meetings»

Riederalp, Switzerland

January12-15, 2011