Adaptation to increased variability and climate change is critical in the water sector. Increased hydrologic variability and change in climate will have a profound impact on the water cycle, water availability, water allocation, and demand at the global, regional, basin, and local levels. Climate change will introduce additional uncertainties into water resources management, because of increased hydrological variability and the greater frequency of extreme events such as floods and droughts.  |  | |
The poorest countries and people will suffer earliest and most, because of their locations, low incomes, and limited institutional capacity, as well as their greater reliance on climate-sensitive sectors like agriculture. For poor countries that have always faced hydrologic variability and have not yet achieved water security, climate change will make water security even more difficult and costly to achieve. Climate change may also reintroduce water security challenges in countries that for a hundred years have enjoyed reliable water supplies and few, if any, water shocks.  | | |
Key Challenges
The impact of climate change on various water use sectors varies by hydrologic regime. In some climatic regions, glacier and snowmelt define hydrology while in other parts of the world, precipitation is the driving factor. The impact of climate change on snow-driven hydrology is quite different from rainfall-driven hydrology. Climate change will exacerbate the uncertainty and severity of hydrologic variability. Regardless of the hydrologic regime, the impact of hydrologic variability and climate change on coastal regions is expected to be severe through sea level rise on the one side and increased flooding from the upland areas on the other. Water practitioners have long coped with and designed for variability in hydrology. Consequently, numerous examples of adaptation to hydrological variability and extreme events exist in the water sector. Implementing these good practices more widely (e.g., efficient irrigation technologies, water harvesting, increased sub-surface storage, etc.) would go a long way in confronting the climate change challenge. But conventional interventions are necessary but not sufficient. Adapting to climate change both needs to build on conventional interventions and requires a major shift in thinking in planning and designing water investments. New approaches in technology, management, as well as the development of flexible or "smart" systems that can anticipate and react to changing circumstances must be identified, particularly in light of uncertainties in projected impacts. New design standards and criteria will also need to be developed for a changed hydrology. In all countries, adaptive capacity—both social and physical—will need to be enhanced to protect the poorest and most vulnerable populations and ecosystems from the effects of extreme weather associated with climate change. World Bank Response
The World Bank has adopted a climate-risk-management approach that calls for making development resilient to both present-day weather variability and projected climate change. The Bank supports adaptation investments that both reduce the damage from climate change and yield net benefits that are competitive with those of alternative development projects. The Bank is currently engaged in global consultations for a Concept and Issues Paper: Towards a Strategic Framework on Climate Change and Development for The World Bank Group. To help countries manage the risks associated with climate change, Bank-supported investments in water-related investment projects focus on:  | Determining the impacts of climate change on hydrology and water use at a sub-regional level and in all water sub-sectors. | | Identifying appropriate and feasible adaptation options. | | Developing guidelines and a systematic methodology for incorporating adaptation in water investments. |
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