1 / 17

Adapting to the effects of climate change on water supply reliability

This research explores the limits and barriers to adapting to climate change effects on water supply reliability in southern England, focusing on the case study of the River Medway catchment in Kent. It examines potential adaptation options and identifies both generic and specific barriers to their implementation.

christaylor
Download Presentation

Adapting to the effects of climate change on water supply reliability

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Adapting to the effects of climate change on water supply reliability Nigel Arnell and Matt Charlton Walker Institute for Climate System Research, University of Reading School of Geography, University of Southampton Living with climate change: Are there limits to adaptation? London, February 7-8 2008

  2. Research questions Are there limits to our ability to adapt to climate change in a particular place? …and what controls those limits and barriers? Water supply reliability in southern England

  3. Outline • Water resources in southern England • A conceptual framework • The case study • Potential adaptation options • Barriers to implementation

  4. Water resources in southern England Environment Agency (2001) Surplus or deficit in 2009-10? Increasing demands

  5. …and add climate change Change in summer runoff, UKCIP02 medium-high scenario, 2020s

  6. Adaptation options Eastern South East England Demand-side options Supply-side options

  7. A conceptual framework Generic barriers apply to the adaptation challenge - is the need for adaptation recognised? - can the need for adaptation be defined? - can potential adaptation options be identified? - can adaptation options be evaluated? - can an option be selected? Specific barriers apply to individual options - are there physical limitations on the performance of the option? - are there financial constraints on the adoption of the option? - are there socio-political constraints on its adoption? - are there institutional factors within the organisation or its regulatory / market context that constrain the adoption of the option?

  8. The case study catchment River Medway catchment, Kent Multiple “ownership” Complicated resource management

  9. Multiple stakeholders Water supply companies Environment Agency Local councils SEERA CPRE Wildlife Trust Agriculture Water consumers

  10. Change in the catchment Change by the 2020s

  11. Potential adaptation options No one option is likely to meet targets

  12. Barriers to implementation Generic barriers Is the need recognised? Yes… Can the need be specified? Strategically - yes… Can potential options be identified? Yes… Can options be evaluated? Not sure yet… Can an option be selected? Not sure yet…

  13. Specific barriers to individual options Strong Medium Weak ? Preliminary assessment

  14. Specific barriers to individual options Strong Medium Weak ? Preliminary assessment

  15. Specific barriers • Major physical barriers for most supply-side options (environmental constraints, reliable yield etc) • Physical barriers for demand-side options relate to uncertainty over effectiveness • Significant pressure-group objections to many supply-side options • Significant customer barriers to many demand-side options

  16. What next? • Explore characteristics of different adaptation options with stakeholders • How can portfolios of adaptation options be implemented? • Multiple ownership of the challenge of coping with water resources deficits

  17. Thank you www.walker-institute.ac.uk

More Related