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Climate change adaptation in water management is a water governance issue. While neither climate change nor water respects national borders, adaptation in water management should be treated as a transboundary water governance issue. However, transboundary water management is, in essence, more complex than national water management because the water management regimes usually differ more between countries than within countries. This paper provides 63 lessons learned from almost a decade of cooperation on transboundary climate adaptation in water management under the UNECE Water Convention and puts these into the context of the OECD principles on water governance. It highlights that good water governance entails a variety of activities that are intertwined and cannot be considered stand-alone elements. The paper also shows that this wide variety of actions is needed to develop a climate change adaptation strategy in water management. Each of the lessons learned can be considered concrete actions connected to one or more of the OECD principles, where a range of actions may be needed to fulfil one principle. The paper concludes that developing climate change adaptation measures needs to improve in parallel the water governance system at transboundary scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water crisis and, particularly, drop in rainfall in Iran are not only an environmental matter but also a security issue. This paper tries to draw attention to the substantial social consequences of climate change in Iran and particularly addresses whether precipitation scarcity from 2007 to 2014 has a conflict-making effect in the province of Iran using the system GMM model. We show that rainfall shortage and the Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI), as an index of drought, could stimulate the propensity for individuals to engage in disruptive activities in provinces of Iran. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper uses the system of economic and environmental accounting for water to demonstrate how the water sector interacts with the social-economic sectors of the economy. Furthermore, it reviews the existing institutional and policy framework in Uganda, and proposes an analytical framework which can be used to provide sound intersectoral planning in order to achieve sustainable water resource use. The proposed framework also articulates how outcomes of water policies and social-economic policies can be analyzed. In Uganda, the uneven distribution of water resources both in space and time, poses constraints to economic activity particularly in the water-scarce regions of the country. The problem is being exacerbated by the increasingly erratic rainfall and rising temperatures. The accounting results show that the current level of water use within the economy is less than the available quantity. In this regard, there is room for the development of mechanisms to increase its utilization. This would serve to mitigate the scarcity especially of water for production which primarily emanates from climate variability. This in turn affects the performance of the economy, as key sectors such as agriculture are rainfall-dependent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is well recognized that climatic variability and human activities are resulting in severe water scarcity in China, especially in the mega city Beijing; one important issue is how to manage water resources in order to tackle this situation. This paper assesses the implementation of the Strictest Administration of Water Resources in Beijing, which was issued by the State Council of China in 2012. The assessment is threefold: (a) analysis of water consumption conditions in Beijing, (b) analysis of water resources management systems in Beijing, and (c) existing problems in the current water management system. Our study suggests that Beijing needs to focus more on improving the building of water resources management agencies, taking effective economic measures, strengthening law construction, developing advanced techniques for water-saving, and strengthening the building of a water-saving culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to propose a decision support system (DSS) for evaluating the climate change impacts on water supply-demand and inundation; and assessing the risks for water shortage and inundation under future scenarios. The proposed DSS framework is universal and flexible, which comprises five modules integrated by a geographic information system platform, including the modules of (1) scenario rainfall and temperature projection under climate change, (2) impact assessment of water supply-demand, (3) impact assessment of inundation, (4) assessment of vulnerability and risk, and (5) adaptation strategy. A case study in southern Taiwan was performed to demonstrate how the DSS provides information on the climate change impacts and risks under future scenarios. The information is beneficial to the authorities of water resources management for understanding the spatial risks for water shortage and inundation, and planning suitable adaptation strategies for the locations with larger risks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Successful adaptation to climate change requires flexible adaptation strategies which consider regional ecological, economic and social circumstances. Coastal zones are considered to be significantly vulnerable to climate change impacts. The projected impacts of climate change in the metropolitan region of Bremen-Oldenburg, Germany (a coastal area), are, for example, rising sea level, salt water intrusion, temporary groundwater scarcity in the summer and increased (heavy) rainfalls. This paper uses an existing framework, the Adaptive Capacity Wheel (ACW), complemented by two additional dimensions: adaptation motivation and adaptation belief. The objectives were first, to assess the adaptive capacity of water governance in the study region, and second, to show how the ACW can be used as an approach and a communication tool with stakeholders to identify strengths and weaknesses. Based on this, a further objective was to discover what lessons and recommendations can be drawn that could help water experts and stakeholders in the future. The results show a high adaptive capacity and that the addition of the psychological dimensions was valuable. However, it is important to look closely at each dimension assessed by the ACW. The key recommendations are: to improve public participation; to ensure better coordination; to raise awareness; and to reduce the lack of political will to overcome adaptation barriers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]