Mainstreaming Climate Change Adaptation in China’s Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM)

2016 ◽  
pp. 107-161
Author(s):  
Xiangbai He
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Water Resources ◽  
Climate Change Adaptation ◽  
Water Resources Management ◽  
Integrated Water Resources Management ◽  
Resources Management

Mainstreaming adaptation in integrated water resources management in China: from challenge to change

Water Policy ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 15 (6) ◽  
pp. 895-921 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiangbai He
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Water Resources ◽  
Climate Change Adaptation ◽  
Water Resources Management ◽  
Integrated Water Resources Management ◽  
Adaptation Strategy ◽  
Resources Management ◽  
Daunting Task ◽  
Entry Points ◽  
Climate Change Risks

China is facing many challenges in the water sector while implementing integrated water resources management (IWRM). Another daunting task – adapting to water-related impacts of climate change, is also challenging China's water managers. These challenges have been posing threats to China's economic, social and environmental development. While separate efforts in promoting IWRM and climate change adaptation have been made, the approach of mainstreaming climate change adaptation strategy within IWRM is seldom studied. Attempting to fill the gap, this paper argues that there is great potential in synergizing them after analysing their distinctions and common points. By developing climate-proofing strategies within IWRM, mainstreaming is able to minimize adverse water-related climate change risks and maximize the benefits of policies and plans. In this study, entry points of mainstreaming climate change adaptation in the sustaining environment of IWRM and its process will be identified and analysed.

Integration of environmental flow assessment and freshwater conservation planning: a new era in catchment management

2011 ◽  
Vol 62 (3) ◽  
pp. 290 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. L. Nel ◽  
E. Turak ◽  
S. Linke ◽  
C. Brown
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Water Resources ◽  
Water Resources Management ◽  
Conservation Planning ◽  
Integrated Water Resources Management ◽  
Environmental Flow ◽  
Freshwater Ecosystems ◽  
Catchment Management ◽  
Freshwater Conservation ◽  
Resources Management

Integrated water resources management offers an ideal platform for addressing the goals of freshwater conservation and climate change adaptation. Environmental flow assessment and systematic conservation planning have evolved separately in respective aquatic and terrestrial realms, and both are central to freshwater conservation and can inform integrated water resources management. Integrating these two approaches is mutually beneficial. Environmental flow assessment considers dynamic flow regimes, measuring social, economic and ecological costs of development scenarios. Conservation planning systematically produces different conservation scenarios that can be used in assessing these costs. Integration also presents opportunities to examine impacts of climate change on conservation of freshwater ecosystems. We review progress in environmental flow assessment and freshwater conservation planning, exploring the mutual benefits of integration and potential ways that this can be achieved. Integration can be accomplished by using freshwater conservation planning outputs to develop conservation scenarios for assessment against different scenarios, and by assessing the extent to which each scenario achieves conservation targets. New tools that maximise complementarity by achieving conservation and flow targets simultaneously should also be developed.

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