Climate change and water resources

Credit: WaterAid / Jim Holmes

Scientists around the world now agree that the changes in climate we are seeing globally are the result of human activity. However, while the responsibility for environmental change rests with industrialised nations, the effects will be felt most by the poor.

Current predictions

Climate change threatens to alter established weather patterns and is set to accelerate. The influential report Stern Review – Economics of Climate Change predicted that climate change would have the following affects on water resources:

Stresses:

• regional rainfall patterns change (ie areas become drier, or wetter, on average)

• precipitation falls as rain at higher altitudes, glacial melt

Shocks:

• extreme events become more likely, for example droughts and floods – flooding has huge impact on sanitation facilities

• salinisation of groundwater / surface water due to sea level rise

Impact on WaterAid's work

Changes to water quality, quantity and availability will all impact on WaterAid's aim of enabling the world's poorest people to gain access to safe water in the coming years.

In response to this WaterAid is:

• strengthening the management of water resources within its projects and programmes to respond to existing water stress and, with climate change and increased rainfall variability, future water stress

• seeking to understand the water resource balance in locations where it works, identifying appropriate technical options for domestic water supplies, bearing in mind affordability

• supporting interventions that enable aquifers to recharge

• seeking to minimise pollution of water resources, particularly from latrines and waste water

• collecting data at water points it has supported and sharing this information with national and international bodies with the responsibility for water resource information and data management

• working with watershed management organisations to ensure the voice of domestic water users is heard

• forming alliances and partnerships with organisations that have expertise in other aspects of water resource management for project / programme work and joint advocacy activities

• adopting the concept of a 'light' approach to Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM) that is based on all sub-sector actors applying good IWRM practice at their own level and in their own work; this will in turn lead to the emergence of better local level water resource management and will be an important first step in the process of IWRM

In addition to issues of adaptation described above, WaterAid is establishing a mitigation programme which, starting with UK operations, seeks to understand trends and thinking in climate change and establish standards for WaterAid's environmental impact which are monitored on a regular basis.

WaterAid's principal interest is ensuring access to water and sanitation for poor, excluded and vulnerable people. We are committed to strengthening our capacities on water resource management and that of our partners, and are developing clear strategy and guidelines to integrate water resource management in all areas of our programme and policy work.

Look out for future updates including details of water resource management in the countries where we work.

WaterAid is a member of the International Institute for Environment and Development's Working Group on Climate Change and Development and a member of the Stop Climate Chaos  coalition.

For information on climate change and water resources, please download our Climate change and water resources report ( PDF 287Kb) produced by ERM for WaterAid.

You can also download this PowerPoint presentation entitled WaterAid and climate change ( PPT 4.7Mb).