How Perceptions of Risks Affect Responses to Climate Change: Implications for Water Resource Planning

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sonia Akter ◽  
Shaleen Khanal
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Risk Perception ◽  
Water Resource ◽  
Water Resource Management ◽  
National Level ◽  
Large Body ◽  
Resource Planning ◽  
Climate Change Risk ◽  
Risk Response ◽  
The Individual

The link between risk perception and risk response is not straightforward. There are several individual, community, and national factors that determine how climate change risk is perceived and how much of the perception translates to response. The nexus between risk perception and risk response in the context of water resource management at the individual, household, community, and institutional level has been subject of a large body of theoretical and empirical studies from around the globe. At the individual level, vulnerability, exposure, and cognitive factors are important determinants of climate change risk perception and response. At the community level, risk perception is determined by culture, social pressure, and group identity. Responses to risk vary depending on the level of social cohesion and collective action. At the national level, public support is a key determinant of institutional response to climate change, particularly for democratic nations. The level of global cooperation and major polluting countries’ willingness to curb their fair share of greenhouse gas emissions also deeply influence policymakers’ decisions to respond to climate change risk.

scholarly journals Climatic controls on watershed reference evapotranspiration vary dramatically during the past 50 years in southern China

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mengsheng Qin ◽  
Lu Hao ◽  
Lei Sun ◽  
Yongqiang Liu ◽  
Ge Sun
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Resource Management ◽  
Water Resource ◽  
Air Temperature ◽  
Water Resource Management ◽  
Reference Evapotranspiration ◽  
Southern China ◽  
The Past ◽  
Increasing Trend ◽  
The Individual

Abstract. Reference evapotranspiration (ETo) is an important hydrometeorological term widely used in water resource management, hydrological modeling, and understanding and projecting the hydrological effects of future climate change and land use change. Identifying the individual climatic controls on ETo helps better understand the processes of global climatic change impacts on local water resources and also simplify modeling efforts to predict actual evapotranspiration. We conducted a case study on the Qinhuai River Basin (QRB), a watershed dominated by a humid subtropical climate and mixed land uses in southern China. Long term (1961–2012) daily meteorological data at six weather stations across the watershed were used to estimate ETo by the FAO-56 Penman−Monteith model. The seasonal and annual trends of ETo were examined using the Mann−Kendall nonparametric test. The individual contributions from each meteorological variable were quantified by a detrending method. The results showed that basin-wide annual ETo had a decreasing trend during 1961–1987 due to decreased wind speed (WS), solar radiation (Rs), vapor pressure deficit (VPD), and increased relative humidity (RH). These variables had different magnitudes of contribution to the ETo trend in different seasons examined during 1961−1987. However, during 1988–2012, both seasonal and annual ETo showed an increasing trend, mainly due to increased VPD and decreased RH and, to lesser extent, to decreased absolute humidity (AH) and a rising air temperature. We show that the key climatic controls on ETo have dramatically shifted as a result of global climate change during the past five decades. Now the atmospheric demand, instead of air temperature alone, is a major control on ETo. Thus, we conclude that accurately predicting current and future ETo and hydrological change under a changing climate must consider changes in VPD (i.e., air humidity and temperature) in the study region. Water resource management in the study basin must consider the increasing trend of ETo to meet the associated increasing water demand for irrigation agriculture and domestic water uses.

scholarly journals Mapping the Distribution of Water Resource Security in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Region at the County Level under a Changing Context

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (22) ◽  
pp. 6463 ◽  
Author(s):  
Li ◽  
Yin ◽  
Zhang ◽  
Croke ◽  
Guo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Water Resources ◽  
Water Resource ◽  
Water Resource Management ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Water Diversion ◽  
County Level ◽  
Populated Region ◽  
Water Resource Security ◽  
Resource Security

The Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei (Jingjinji) region is the most densely populated region in China and suffers from severe water resource shortage, with considerable water-related issues emerging under a changing context such as construction of water diversion projects (WDP), regional synergistic development, and climate change. To this end, this paper develops a framework to examine the water resource security for 200 counties in the Jingjinji region under these changes. Thus, county-level water resource security is assessed in terms of the long-term annual mean and selected typical years (i.e., dry, normal, and wet years), with and without the WDP, and under the current and projected future (i.e., regional synergistic development and climate change). The outcomes of such scenarios are assessed based on two water-crowding indicators, two use-to-availability indicators, and one composite indicator. Results indicate first that the water resources are distributed unevenly, relatively more abundant in the northeastern counties and extremely limited in the other counties. The water resources are very limited at the regional level, with the water availability per capita and per unit gross domestic product (GDP) being only 279/290 m3 and 46/18 m3 in the current and projected future scenarios, respectively, even when considering the WDP. Second, the population carrying capacity is currently the dominant influence, while economic development will be the controlling factor in the future for most middle and southern counties. This suggests that significant improvement in water-saving technologies, vigorous replacement of industries from high to low water consumption, as well as water from other supplies for large-scale applications are greatly needed. Third, the research identifies those counties most at risk to water scarcity and shows that most of them can be greatly relieved after supplementation by the planned WDP. Finally, more attention should be paid to the southern counties because their water resources are not only limited but also much more sensitive and vulnerable to climate change. This work should benefit water resource management and allocation decisions in the Jingjinji region, and the proposed assessment framework can be applied to other similar problems.

How and when higher climate change risk perception promotes less climate change inaction

2021 ◽  
Vol 321 ◽  
pp. 128952
Author(s):  
Changcheng Wang ◽  
Liuna Geng ◽  
Julián D. Rodríguez-Casallas
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Risk Perception ◽  
Climate Change Risk

Water-Resource Management in Mexico Under Climate Change

2015 ◽  
pp. 215-243
Author(s):  
R. T. Montes-Rojas ◽  
J. E. Ospina-Noreña ◽  
C. Gay-García ◽  
C. Rueda-Abad ◽  
I. Navarro-González
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Resource Management ◽  
Water Resource ◽  
Water Resource Management

scholarly journals Adaptation of water resource systems to an uncertain future

2016 ◽  
Vol 20 (5) ◽  
pp. 1869-1884 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claire L. Walsh ◽  
Stephen Blenkinsop ◽  
Hayley J. Fowler ◽  
Aidan Burton ◽  
Richard J. Dawson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Water Resources ◽  
Population Growth ◽  
Water Resource ◽  
Water Resource Management ◽  
Resource Planning ◽  
Integrated Modelling ◽  
Climate Projections ◽  
Median Frequency ◽  
Changing Climate ◽  
Adaptation Options

Abstract. Globally, water resources management faces significant challenges from changing climate and growing populations. At local scales, the information provided by climate models is insufficient to support the water sector in making future adaptation decisions. Furthermore, projections of change in local water resources are wrought with uncertainties surrounding natural variability, future greenhouse gas emissions, model structure, population growth, and water consumption habits. To analyse the magnitude of these uncertainties, and their implications for local-scale water resource planning, we present a top-down approach for testing climate change adaptation options using probabilistic climate scenarios and demand projections. An integrated modelling framework is developed which implements a new, gridded spatial weather generator, coupled with a rainfall-runoff model and water resource management simulation model. We use this to provide projections of the number of days and associated uncertainty that will require implementation of demand saving measures such as hose pipe bans and drought orders. Results, which are demonstrated for the Thames Basin, UK, indicate existing water supplies are sensitive to a changing climate and an increasing population, and that the frequency of severe demand saving measures are projected to increase. Considering both climate projections and population growth, the median number of drought order occurrences may increase 5-fold by the 2050s. The effectiveness of a range of demand management and supply options have been tested and shown to provide significant benefits in terms of reducing the number of demand saving days. A decrease in per capita demand of 3.75 % reduces the median frequency of drought order measures by 50 % by the 2020s. We found that increased supply arising from various adaptation options may compensate for increasingly variable flows; however, without reductions in overall demand for water resources such options will be insufficient on their own to adapt to uncertainties in the projected changes in climate and population. For example, a 30 % reduction in overall demand by 2050 has a greater impact on reducing the frequency of drought orders than any of the individual or combinations of supply options; hence, a portfolio of measures is required.

scholarly journals Applications of Bayesian Networks as Decision Support Tools for Water Resource Management under Climate Change and Socio-Economic Stressors: A Critical Appraisal

Water ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 2642 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thuc D. Phan ◽  
James C. R. Smart ◽  
Ben Stewart-Koster ◽  
Oz. Sahin ◽  
Wade L. Hadwen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Decision Support ◽  
Resource Management ◽  
Bayesian Networks ◽  
Water Resource ◽  
Water Resource Management ◽  
Decision Support Tools ◽  
Management Measures ◽  
Support Tools ◽  
Economic Stressors

Bayesian networks (BNs) are widely implemented as graphical decision support tools which use probability inferences to generate “what if?” and “which is best?” analyses of potential management options for water resource management, under climate change and socio-economic stressors. This paper presents a systematic quantitative literature review of applications of BNs for decision support in water resource management. The review quantifies to what extent different types of data (quantitative and/or qualitative) are used, to what extent optimization-based and/or scenario-based approaches are adopted for decision support, and to what extent different categories of adaptation measures are evaluated. Most reviewed publications applied scenario-based approaches (68%) to evaluate the performance of management measures, whilst relatively few studies (18%) applied optimization-based approaches to optimize management measures. Institutional and social measures (62%) were mostly applied to the management of water-related concerns, followed by technological and engineered measures (47%), and ecosystem-based measures (37%). There was no significant difference in the use of quantitative and/or qualitative data across different decision support approaches (p = 0.54), or in the evaluation of different categories of management measures (p = 0.25). However, there was significant dependence (p = 0.076) between the types of management measure(s) evaluated, and the decision support approaches used for that evaluation. The potential and limitations of BN applications as decision support systems are discussed along with solutions and recommendations, thereby further facilitating the application of this promising decision support tool for future research priorities and challenges surrounding uncertain and complex water resource systems driven by multiple interactions amongst climatic and non-climatic changes.

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