The climate crisis will hit the water cycle the hardest. Many of the negative and most severe impacts of climate change are manifested through changes to the water cycle. Climate change will severely alter the quantity, quality, and spatial distribution of global water resources. Consequent increases in the frequency and intensity of extreme events like droughts and floods will have significant implications for water scarcity and human well-being. However, the conception of water is often local in scale (for example, local irrigation) and the policy response to water-related challenges is often based on standalone strategies and short-term repair and remediation (for example, repairing flood levees). Water needs to be collaboratively managed on a global level to ensure that the best responses to these challenges are implemented. 

—

Global Water Challenges

Measures to adapt to climate change and past international climate summits have so far failed to adequately consider the link between water and climate change. In fact, water is intimately embedded in all processes of the global climate system and is often a common element in strategies for climate change adaptation. Appropriate water management is not only important to ensure adequate water supply; water permeates across other sectors and adequate management can help tackle a wide variety of resilience-relevant challenges such as disease transmission, health and sanitation, environmental refugees and migration and transboundary resource conflict. 

Water-Centric Climate Adaptation 

Despite its important role in connecting some of our most pressing challenges, water resources are far too often considered a separate and standalone issue. As an example, in the 4 pages dedicated to water in the Global Commission on Adaptation report, water resources were considered as separate to infrastructure resilience and early warning systems, despite the fact that appropriate water management is critical to the success of both.      

A new, more holistic paradigm is emerging at this year’s COP25, the latest Conference of Parties where policy-makers around the world convened to discuss and enact global climate targets. At a jointly organised side event, the Alliance for Global Water Adaptation (AGWA) and the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) launched a new background paper titled “Adaptation’s Thirst: Accelerating the Convergence of Water and Climate Action” which argued for the need to reframe the story of water and climate change beyond the traditional lens of devastation and menace. 

The background paper attempts to usher a paradigm shift in the adaptation community by presenting the first coherent vision on how water is able to connect the various components required to ensure climate resilience. Adopting a water-centric adaptation approach can simultaneously align climate adaptation with water management and mainstream the practice of integrative water management in the broader climate adaptation agenda. Introducing the new background paper, Dr John Matthews, executive director of AGWA, injected some hope for the future by suggesting that water is a ‘menace with hope’ and is the best tool to coherently organise our national and global climate solutions. Flexible, co-management regimes in collaborative water governance, the inclusion of water resources in bottom-up multi-sectoral risk assessments and the need to fully consider water resources in the finance, investment and insurance industry were among the recommendations given in the background paper for effective climate change adaptation.

Figure 1. Climate adaptation solutions framed around adequate water management and fully considers the role of water in climate resilience. Image: Smith et al. (2019)

Crisis Into Opportunities

The Netherlands, widely regarded as having the best protected deltaic region in the world, is a worthy case to consult in the mission of fostering a culture that thrives by living with water rather than acting against it. At a separate side event at COP25, Henk Ovink, Netherlands’ inaugural National Envoy for International Water Affairs, spoke about the novelty of his role and the idea of using water to accelerate action against the climate crisis. Ovink cited The Netherlands’ groundbreaking Room for the River Programme, an example of successful water-centric resilience and capacity building. The major nationwide programme, completed in 2019, is aimed at increasing flood resilience by enhancing floodplain capacity through interventions such as deepening river channels, reclaiming floodplains, creating artificial hills and constructing dykes. The programme adopted a multi-sectoral systemic approach where alongside improving flood protection, project interventions also build community resilience and address social and economic concerns of local residents. Outcomes of the programme included urban river parks for recreational use, foot- and cycle-paths along newly created river dykes and areas reclaimed for the development of sustainable housing. Water-centric projects such as this emphasise the potential to leverage human ingenuity and use design, innovation and creativity to strengthen both institutional capacity and climate resilience. 

Climate change will lead to significant shifts in the water cycle and the frequency of extreme floods and droughts will increase. However, as the background paper and all the panelists at the COP25 launch event suggested, the story of water in the future under climate change need not be one of devastation and destruction. For climate adaptation to make economic sense in the long run, it has to be done effectively. For climate adaptation to be effective, it must consider water management in all future strategies and appreciate water resources as the integrative resource that it is.

A version of this article was originally published on copcas.uk as part of the Walker Institute’s COP Climate Action Studio (COPCAS) Programme at the University of Reading, UK.

The post Water Challenges: Reconsidering the Role of Water in Climate Resilience appeared first on Earth.Org.

Research suggests that groundwater reserves in sub-Saharan Africa are more resilient to climate change than previously understood. But overexploitation by humans could still dwindle them.

— 

Previous studies that indicated climate change caused rapid depletion of groundwater — the largest source of freshwater resource on the planet — had raised serious concerns among climate scientists and conservationists. But new research by a consortium of international hydrogeologists suggests that climate change may not deplete groundwater in sub-Saharan Africa.

The study — the first regional assessment to look at how climate change has influenced groundwater across sub-Saharan Africa — examined patterns of groundwater replenishment in 14 multidecadal groundwater level records from nine African countries that represent a range of climates from hyper-arid to humid. Researchers found that groundwater was consistently replenished every year regardless of the amount of annual precipitation. The replenishment process has been more sensitive to the intensity of rainfall than to the overall amount of rain.

Although the climate crisis is expected to cause less overall rainfall, the research suggests that groundwater supplies in Africa will survive because of the heavier and more intense rainfall caused by global warming. Even if annual rainfall is low, periods of intense rain will be sufficient enough to replenish local groundwater resources.

Groundwater Levels in Africa

In Africa, groundwater reserves are 20 times larger than the water stored in lakes and reservoirs above ground. A vital source of drinking water for millions of people in cities and villages across the continent, these reserves are accessed through wells, boreholes, and springs. People rely more on them during droughts than other water sources on the surface, which often remain dried up during the summer.

You might also like: The World’s Water Towers That Supply Freshwater to 1.9 Billion People Are Under Threat

Multi-decadal groundwater levels across Sub-Saharan Africa show that groundwater recharge due to intense periods of rainfall.

The researchers determined groundwater levels analysing a relative balance between recharge — the process by which groundwater is replenished — and discharge — the flow of groundwater to springs, streams, wetlands and the sea. Individuals and companies collecting water for irrigation and drinking also contribute to reducing the amount of stored groundwater.

A comparative analysis revealed that groundwater is mostly replenished by rainfall that trickles down through the soil to the water table in wetter regions of Africa. This phenomenon occurs consistently across large areas on the continent. But in drier regions, groundwater is mostly recharged locally by water leaking from temporary streams and ponds, which usually start overflowing after heavy rains.

Scientists consider these findings path-breaking because previous studies had ignored an important fact about groundwater replenishment. “Previous regional-level assessments of groundwater resources using large-scale models had ignored the contribution of leaking streams and ponds to groundwater supplies, underestimating its renewability in drylands and resilience to climate change,” says co-lead of the study Dr. Mark Cuthbert from Cardiff University.

Those studies based on computer models had earlier predicted that freshwater will become scarcer in African drylands as climate change continue to reduce rainfall. But, the reality appears to be the opposite as per these findings: global warming is making rainfall come in fewer but heavier bursts accelerating overall groundwater replenishment. 

These findings debunk myths of groundwater depletion in Africa and will encourage policymakers to adopt new strategies to meet the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) like food security and access to clean water. Food production on the continent can be improved by allocating groundwater for irrigation through sustainable resource management, which can also ensure safe drinking water for generations to come.

The post Why Climate Change May Not Be a Threat to Groundwater in Africa appeared first on Earth.Org.

Two-thirds of Earth’s 242 longest rivers are no longer free-flowing due to human activities, a study mapping over 12 million kms of watercourses reveals. 

—

Why are free-flowing rivers important?

Besides dams and reservoirs, activities like water extraction and sediment trapping disrupt rivers’ natural flow. Free-flowing rivers feed hundreds of millions of people, deliver sediments crucial to agriculture and mitigate the impact of floods and droughts. River fragmentation and alteration threaten vital ecosystems for people and wildlife.

This groundbreaking study by hydrologists from McGill University, published in Nature, is the first comprehensive global assessment of the connectivity of Earth’s largest rivers. Scientific wisdom postulates that free-flowing rivers must remain connected across four dimensions: longitudinally, so that fish and other species can move upstream while water, nutrients, and sediments can move downstream; laterally, so the river can move out onto its floodplain, delivering important nutrients to fish in other habitats and bringing nutrients back into the river itself; vertically, so the river can flow into and interact with groundwater and aquifers; and seasonally, so that the important ecological functions rivers provide over time are not impaired — for example, the flood pulses that signal fish to spawn.

Using satellite imagery and hydrological modelling, researchers mapped over 12 million kilometers of watercourses worldwide.  The team identified indicators at the global scale that measured any of the four ways of river connectivity. Measurements showed how the presence of dams affects longitudinal, lateral, and seasonal components of connectivity. Roads and urban areas built in flood plains also disrupted lateral connectivity.

You might also like: Using Oysters as a Flood Defence Strategy

Data analysis revealed that river fragmentation, flow regulation, sedimentation, water consumption, and urbanisation were the five dominant constraints rivers face worldwide. Only rivers in remote regions like the Arctic and the Amazon rainforest were found to have remained untouched and could flow unimpeded along its entire course. In densely populated areas only a few very long rivers remain free-flowing, such as the Irrawaddy in Myanmar and the Salween in China.

There are over 2.8 million large and small dams constructed around the world; these are the leading cause of river fragmentation. Dams, intentionally designed to impede river flow, not only alter terrestrial and freshwater biodiversity by preventing species migration, but also accelerate the shrinking of downstream river deltas and expose low-lying regions to increased flood risk by preventing the exchange of sediments.

This study adds to growing evidence highlighting how human activities are fundamentally changing the natural landscape and the water cycle. With more than 3,700 dams in the works and the pace of hydropower development accelerating around the world, the ecological consequences of dams should push us to develop an energy system that minimises negative impacts on our ecosystem. The results of this study, freely available in an interactive map portal, should serve as a wake-up call to policymakers, engineers, and planners and encourage them to redesign the infrastructure development projects.

The best way forward is to adopt nature-based solutions (NbS), which are defined as ‘actions to protect, sustainably manage, and restore natural or modified ecosystems, that address societal challenges effectively and adaptively, simultaneously providing human well-being and biodiversity benefits’. Countries should embrace NbS like floodplain restoration, ecological engineering, and integrated water resources management to ensure river flow connectivity and protect the ecosystem.

Removing dams is another way to restore the rivers. A dam removal movement has already started in the US, where about 1,500 dams have been removed. Support for river restoration through dam demolition is also growing in Europe and Japan.  A project called Dam Removal Europe focuses on clearing rivers of the 30,000 old or obsolete dams that still exist across Europe. These projects should be embarked upon more widely to ensure the protection and longevity of Earth’s last free-flowing rivers.

The post Earth’s Last Free-Flowing Rivers appeared first on Earth.Org.

Humans are exacerbating the environmental crisis and upending the delicate balance of ecosystems in more than one way. A new report explores our unhealthy relationship with nature and unpacks the consequences.

—

Rising temperatures and global warming have been in the news for a while and are well-supported by scientific evidence. Global atmospheric CO2 concentration exceeded 400ppm, the highest in human history and for the past 5 million years. Despite plateauing in the early 21^st century, methane emissions have been on the rise since 2014 at rates not observed since the 1980s. The past four years have consequently been the warmest years on record.

You might also like: Current Emissions Commitments Not Enough to Meet Paris Targets- UN

What is far less known and publicised is the interaction between climate change and other man-derived environmental changes. A new, report – ‘Facing Up to the Age of Environmental Breakdown’– by the London-based Institute for Public Policy Research, is among the first meta-studies to consider the risks of interplay between multiple environmental threats in destabilising human society and socioeconomic systems.

What is the age of environmental breakdown?

The age of ‘environmental breakdown’ is characterised by the immense scale and severity of human impacts on the environment that extend beyond the dimension of climate change and exacerbate the environmental crisis.

More soil, rock and sediment each year are moved by humans than all natural processes combined. Enough concrete and plastic are produced to cover the entire Earth’s surface. Land use change and urbanisation are causing the sixth mass extinction with species extinction rates matching previous mass extinction events. Insect biodiversity and abundance are declining rapidly by 2.5% per year while vertebrate populations have declined by 60% over the past 30 years. Intensified agricultural production and deforestation have exposed 30% of the world’s arable land to significant degradation.

These environmental changes do not exist in isolation but instead interact with each other in complex, non-linear ways. Climate change serves to further destabilise the system by global changes in temperature, rainfall patterns and extreme events. Exceeding certain tipping points and biophysical thresholds would have catastrophic consequences. These interactions cascade into human society and amplify existing social and economic problems and risks global political and financial shocks.

Societal impacts range from heightened income inequality to forced migration with the rise of environmental refugees, increased conflict over scarce resources and declining human health and malnutrition.

In spite of the alarming statistics, the IPPR report concludes that the politicians and policies of the past decade have failed to provide adequate solutions to match the scale of the environmental destruction.  

To effectively tackle what is surely the challenge of our generation, the paper envisages a fundamental rethink of existing social, economic and justice systems. Societies should strive for a ‘sustainable and just’ future by strengthening their resilience in order to cope with the age of environmental breakdown. A ‘shift in understanding’ is required.

Policies in recent years like the Climate Change Act in the United Kingdom, restoration of natural systems and deployment of renewable technology have the potential to be transformative, but progress has been slow. Climate action has been further hampered by rising populism, vested interests coupled with rigid and inflexible mechanisms for global decision-making.

The findings of this report echo recent debates over the Anthropocene. The Anthropocene is a proposed geological epoch in which human activity rivals that of natural geological processes in reshaping the Earth’s landscape. Prof. Simon Lewis, Professor of Global Change Science and researcher of the Anthropocene at University College London, suggested that ‘to usher in a new way of living, today’s core dynamic of ever-greater production and consumption of goods and resources must also be broken, coupled with a societal focus on environmental repair.’

The recent proposal of a Green New Deal (GND) in the United States attracted significant debate. It is a prime example of transformative policies that links environmental degradation with human society and considers the impacts of human activity beyond climate change. The GND does not only aim to cut carbon emissions by increasing uptake of renewable energy. It also pledges an all-encompassing social rethink: creating green jobs, raising the minimum wage, establishing universal healthcare; all backed by strong government intervenction in the economy. Similar proposals have recently been released by the Labour Party, the official opposition in the UK Parliament, in what was termed ‘The Green Transformation’.

Profound changes are needed in order for humans to live within sustainable limits and mitigate the environmental crisis. Widespread public concern and the naissance of youth climate strikes may be the catalyst for long overdue bold and transformative policies.

The post Our Environmental Crisis Has More Than One Dimension appeared first on Earth.Org.

Are we running out of water? Only 3% of the water on the Earth’s surface is freshwater. Less than 0.5% of that is accessible for consumption as drinking water. If no urgent action is taken, an increasing number of cities worldwide are expected to experience severe water shortages. Recent analyses by the BBC ranked cities such as Beijing, Tokyo and London among those most likely to run out of drinking water in the near future.

—

Is the World Running Out of Water Because Climate Change?

The short answer: yes. Climate change is expected to severely alter the quantity, quality and spatial distribution of global water resources. Warmer temperatures increase evaporation, change the holding capacity of moisture in the air and alter rainfall patterns. The most recent IPCC report concluded that, in general, wet regions will get wetter and dry regions will get drier. Increases in the frequency and intensity of extreme events like droughts and heatwaves will also contribute to water stress and water shortages.

A ground-breaking study on the impacts of climate change to groundwater resources was recently published in Nature Climate Change. The study showed that groundwater stored in aquifers, which provides 36% of the world’s domestic water supply for over 2 billion people, is highly sensitive to future climate change.

Groundwater is stored in underground aquifers that are replenished by rainfall and soil moisture. Could this groundwater be depleted, and if so, when will the world run out of water? Researchers found that 44% of all aquifers globally will be fully impacted and depleted as a result of climate change in the next 100 years due to changes in the intensity and pattern of rainfalls. Underground water reserves in drier regions are naturally slow at adjusting to above-ground atmospheric and climactic changes, but over-abstraction and other impacts of extreme drought may still exacerbate regional water shortages. 

You might also like: Water Scarcity: How Climate Crisis is Unfolding in India

Another recent study concluded that total water storage in landlocked river basins has declined significantly over the past few decades. Using gravity satellite observations from the NASA GRACE satellite, researchers calculated that water storage is declining by 100 billion tonnes per year, which is attributable to climate change and unsustainable water management. Given that most of the landlocked basins are in arid regions, there are significant implications to regional water stress.

A consequent impact of water storage decline is its contribution to sea level rise. Because of conservation of mass in the earth system, water lost in landlocked basins impacts global sea level through changes to the water vapour flux. Water loss in landlocked river basins accounted for about 10% of global sea level rise observed in the past 10 years.

Why is the Water Cycle Important in Preventing the World Running Out of Water?

There is a growing consensus around the idea that anthropogenic climate change is already significantly changing the global water cycle and that the sustainability of freshwater sources is being compromised.

Urbanisation and an exponential increase in freshwater demand for households are driving factors behind water shortages, especially in regions with a precarious water supply. Cape Town, the first modern city to effectively run out of drinking water in 2018, has suffered because of the confluence of extreme drought, poor water resource management and over-consumption. Pipes were dry and thousands were left queuing for drinking water. Similarly, China is also at risk of running out of water; the total renewable water resources per inhabitant is 2 018 cubic meters each year- 75% less than the global average, according to the World Bank.

Disruptive technologies like artificial intelligence and machine learning may hold the key for new and bold solutions. Smart hand-pumps that leverage AI to analyse groundwater use and predict pump failures has been experimented in rural Kenya resulting in water use optimisation and thus reducing wasteful dispersion of this increasingly precious, liquid gold.

A smart grid water management approach with an Internet of Things (IoT) system could be the answer. An IoT system refers to a network of physical objects that have been embedded with communications software, wireless environmental sensors, and automated control systems. An IoT system can monitor structural integrity and environmental factors, and can communicate with the rest of the system to perform real time risk analysis. IoT infrastructures have been highly successful in optimising the efficiency of wind and solar power farms by minimising risk and redundancy and maximising output. A water management IoT system can monitor air, water, and soil conditions autonomously and waste can be reduced via timely responses to weather events and water demand. Governments should invest in IoT research with a view towards significant long-term savings and increased efficiency in water management.

The post Are We Running Out of Water? appeared first on Earth.Org.