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Agua y Cambio Climático, evidencias metodólogicas

Sergio A. ZelayaPunta Cana

Republica Dominicana29 Octubre 2009

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Water is a crosscutting issue

• Water Cycle is at the heart of the 3 Rio Conventions

• JLG a high level policy making platform for the three Rio conventions

• UN-Water another instrument for coordinating water and climate change issues

• For the UNCCD in particular sustainable and integrated water resources management is an essential ingredient for achieving the Strategic Objectives

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Climate Change and Water Resources

• Frequent and severe summer droughts• Drop in water retention as snow melts• Low recharge of the water tables• Reduced river water flow• Increased water scarcity• Increased dependence on ground water • Increased water salinity • Increased saline intrusion with rising sea levels• Disappearing glaciers reduce fresh water

availability

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Climate Change impacts rainfall patterns

• Expected to cause drop in precipitation with rise in temperatures• Rainfall will be highly variable with considerable regional

variations,• Dry areas are likely to become drier, and those presently wet –

wetter,• Mean annual precipitation is likely to decrease in some regions

and increase in others,• Intensity of rainfall events is projected to increase even in

regions where the mean annual precipitation is likely to decrease• Changes in rainfall pattern extremes are likely to be more

dramatic than in the means,• Climate change is expected to reduce water availability and

increase irrigation withdrawals,• small Islands with small catchments that do not provide

perennial flows are highly vulnerable.

• Source IPCC, UNCCD, FAO, UNDP and other sources

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Drylands rainfall patterns

• Most drylands have climatic conditions which almost entirely depend on rainfall

• Two or three, or sometimes up to six consecutive dry years are observed

• Statistical analysis of rainfall in these regions reveals a stepped drop since the early 70s

• A reduction of approximately 20% in the rainfall results in a 40% reduction in surface runoff

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Climate Change and drought

• Droughts can be considered as a temporary decrease of the average water availability

• Although drought is a natural phenomenon, its frequency around the world in the last few years appear to be exacerbated by climate change

• Drought duration is largely variable from one country to another

• Overall economic impacts of drought events are set to double over the next few years

• Small Island states are most vulnerable

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Climate Change and water availability

• Total renewable freshwater is the total volume of river run-off + groundwater recharge by precipitation + rivers water flowing from neighbouring countries

• This resource is supplemented by water stored in lakes, reservoirs, icecaps and fossil groundwater.

• Climate change reduces water availability through:- lower ground water recharge caused by droughts - the drop in water retention as snow - lower precipitation

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Impacts of CC and water availability

• Food insecurity: critical in coming years• Migration: push and pull factors• Social conflicts• Biodiversity loss• More droughts, more drylands (currently

between 33 to 41 % of earth surface)

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Linkages: climate change and DLDD

High temperaturesDisappearing glaciersVarying rainfall patterns

•Drought•Water Scarcity•Floods

DesertificationLand degradation

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DLDD, Climate Change and Water

• Articles 2, 3, 4 and 17 of the UNCCD Convention underline the importance of sustainable use of water resources

• UNCCD has the mandate to address drought issues as they relate to climate change in the drylands

• UNCCD - a unique instrument in bringing attention to DLDD issues in drylands

• UNCCD – increasingly a recognised instrument for making substantial contributions to poverty reduction and sustainable development ‘UN-LAND’ as an example of activity we undertake

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To mobilize resources to support implementation of the Convention through building effective partnerships between national and international actors

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Strategic objectives of the UNCCD

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Some global policies on water

• Water should be viewed as a basis for access to food security

• Water should be treated as a common good

• Access to water is essential for the sustainable development of all living species.

• Part and parcel of the solution at the climate change framework