A report [1] published by Tearfund states that national plans for managing water are failing to consider the impacts of climate change, resulting in devastating consequences for the world’s poorest people. Unless significant changes are made to water management strategies, the number of people living in severely water stressed regions will rise to 5 billion by 2050, Tearfund says. The report was based on research by the Institute for Development Studies (IDS) carried out in the semi-arid areas of Niger and north-east Brazil.

Presenting the report on 02 December 2008 during the UN Climate Change Conference in Poznan, Paul Cook, Tearfund’s director of advocacy called on the “international community to earmark at least $50 billion a year of new money to help developing countries adapt to climate change”.

Putting the impact of climate change on water resources into perspective, Roger Calow stressed in a recent opinion piece [2], that “water security is not determined by water availability [and that] extending access and affordability remain key”. Other pressures like “population growth, urbanisation and the push for irrigation development” will, in many cases, dwarf the impacts of climate change”, he wrote.

[1] Hedger, M. and Cacouris, J. (2008). Separate streams? : adapting water resources management to climate change. Teddington, UK, Tearfund. Download here

[2] Calow, R. (2008). Future directions in water and sanitation (ODI opnion ; 114). London, UK, Overseas Development Institute. Download here

Related news: Climate change: access to water critical to developing countries, Source Weekly, 24 Jan 2008

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

Source: Tearfund, 08 Dec 2008

Tags: financing, policies & legislation, water resources management