Access to water will be a critical issue for poorer nations, particularly in Africa and Asia, said Mr. Avinash C. Tyagi, Director of the Hydrology and Water Resources Programme at the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO-HWR). Tyagi was speaking at the United Nations Climate Change Conference 2007 in Bali, Indonesia. "There is an urgent need to build the hydrological capacity in these countries now, to ensure they have the capacity to adapt. The IPCC [Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change] has also predicted that food production as a result of the pressure on water will halve in Africa."

Often, simple solutions like using closed lined conduits to prevent seepage can help save water, Tygai added. He said that the adaptation strategies being discussed in Bali did not take the predicted water shortages into account. Millions of people could also end up without access to water in Africa and tens of millions in Asia, as a result of salinisation. "We have to start integrating strategies into national action plans now," he urged.

Climate change is also the topic of the Human Development Report 2007/2008 [1]. The report identifies five key transmission mechanisms through which climate change could stall and then reverse human development. One of these is water stress and water insecurity.

[1] Watkins, K. … [et al.] (2007). Human Development Report 2007/2008 : Fighting climate change : human solidarity in a divided world. New York, NY, USA, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Download here

Two background papers deal specifically with climate and water:

• Yue, L., Erda, L. and Yan, K. (2007). Impacts of, and vulnerability and adaptation to, climate change in water resources and agricultural sectors in China. PDF file
• Brun, A. and Carlos, J. (2007). Adapting to impacts of climate change on water supply in Mexico City. PDF file

Related news: Climate change: decrease in freshwater for coastal regions more than expected, Source Weekly, 10 Dec 2007

Related web sites: Co-operative Programme on Water and Climate ; IPCC - Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change ; WMO - Hydrology and Water Resources Programme

Contact: Mr. Avinash C. Tyagi, Director, Hydrology and Water Resources Programme, WMO, Switzerland, ATYAGI@wmo.int

Source: IRIN, 13 Dec 2007

Tags: policies & legislation, water resources management