Adapting to Climate Change
Current Actions
In
2006, H2oAlliance formed a water risk mitigation and crisis management
working group, a three year program of
action to provide speed-to-market solutions to a range of sectors and countries.
Building on this work, we Integrated Water Risk and Crisis Management Platform (IWRMP) that was released in January 2009 to enable national and international
collaboration in water risk mitigation and crisis management, and
deliver speed-to-market solutions to customers worldwide.
In 2009, we released the first global Integrated Water Risk and Crisis Management Initiative and education program to serve global citizens: IWRMI
About Adaptation
Over the coming century, climate change is expected to cause:
- Increased temperatures;
- Drier conditions;
- More frequent extreme events such as extreme rainfall (floods), fires and droughts.
Adapting to climate change means taking action to reduce the adverse consequences or to take advantage of any opportunities that may arise. Despite global and local efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, some level of climate change is now inevitable, and we will need to adapt the way we do things to maintain social, environmental and economic well-being.
Our first response is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to slow the rate, and reduce the magnitude of climate change. For information on specific actions our working group is taking to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, please contact our Climate Change Working Group Administrator.
At the same time, we must prepare to live in a changed climate. This may involve adjusting our behavior, the design and delivery of social services and our infrastructure. We need to think about how we can adapt. Some of us have already started to adapt to climate change by reducing water and energy use. Simple measures like saving water are easy and quick to introduce.
We also need to consider how we can best manage and prepare our natural assets to lessen the impacts of climate change. Adjustments can be made now in response to changes that have already occurred, and in anticipation of projected changes in climate. We have a role to play in managing and assisting our natural assets to improve their resilience to climate change, for example by working to identify and establish migration corridors or ‘bio-links’ that join up suitable habitat fragments.
There is growing research on projected climate changes and impacts. Such information is the first step to helping us understand how climate change may impact us. Preparing for climate change is not something that governments can do alone – it is a shared responsibility that requires partnerships across the community so that individuals, businesses, communities and governments can make prepare effectively and efficiently.
What is adaptation?
Adaptation means taking action to reduce the adverse consequences of climate change, or to take advantage of any opportunities it may present. We need to think about how we can adapt. Some of us have already started to adapt to climate change by reducing water and energy use.
Adaptation may be autonomous (or automatic) -- for example, the migration of animal populations seeking cooler temperatures in response to climate change. It could also be the result of planned or conscious activity, such as limiting or re-designing developments in areas that may be affected by future sea level rise.
We have a role to play in managing and assisting our natural assets to improve their resilience to climate change through planned adaptation activities, for example working to identify best water technologies, methods and practices, establish migration corridors or ‘bio-links’ that join up suitable habitat fragments.
When should we act?
When planning adaptation responses, we can either take action now based on our existing knowledge of climate change and potential impacts, or we can respond to the change when it occurs. Specific decisions on whether we act now or wait will need to consider a number of issues including costs and benefits and the time it may take to respond, to determine the most effective response.
Benefits of early action may help reduce the need for and the cost of remedial action and may also provide some additional benefits in the interim. For example mitigating water risks and improving water efficiency will have immediate benefits, but also better prepare us for times in the future when there is less water available.
Alternatively, for some areas of concern, a ‘wait and see’ approach may be more appropriate. For example, farmers planting annual crops may not need to respond until climate change manifests – but they can start to consider how these changes might affect their long-term investment strategies: IWRCMI
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