Climate Change Impacts on Water Availability and Use in the Limpopo River Basin

This paper analyzes the effects of climate change on water availability and use in the Limpopo River Basin of Southern Africa, using a linked modeling system consisting of a semi-distributed global hydrological model and the Water Simulation Module (WSM) of the International Model for Policy Analysi...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Zhu, T., Ringler, Claudia
Formato: Journal Article
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: MDPI 2012
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/34687
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author Zhu, T.
Ringler, Claudia
author_browse Ringler, Claudia
Zhu, T.
author_facet Zhu, T.
Ringler, Claudia
author_sort Zhu, T.
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description This paper analyzes the effects of climate change on water availability and use in the Limpopo River Basin of Southern Africa, using a linked modeling system consisting of a semi-distributed global hydrological model and the Water Simulation Module (WSM) of the International Model for Policy Analysis of Agricultural Commodities and Trade (IMPACT). Although the WSM simulates all major water use sectors, the focus of this study is to evaluate the implications of climate change on irrigation water supply in the catchments of the Limpopo River Basin within the four riparian countries: Botswana, Mozambique, South Africa, and Zimbabwe. The analysis found that water resources of the Limpopo River Basin are already stressed under todays climate conditions. Projected water infrastructure and management interventions are expected to improve the situation by 2050 if current climate conditions continue into the future. However, under the climate change scenarios studied here, water supply availability is expected to worsen considerably by 2050. Assessing hydrological impacts of climate change is crucial given that expansion of irrigated areas has been postulated as a key adaptation strategy for Sub-Saharan Africa. Such expansion will need to take into account future changes in water availability in African river basins.
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spelling CGSpace346872025-05-01T21:01:46Z Climate Change Impacts on Water Availability and Use in the Limpopo River Basin Zhu, T. Ringler, Claudia hydrology water resources irrigation reliability limpopo river basin This paper analyzes the effects of climate change on water availability and use in the Limpopo River Basin of Southern Africa, using a linked modeling system consisting of a semi-distributed global hydrological model and the Water Simulation Module (WSM) of the International Model for Policy Analysis of Agricultural Commodities and Trade (IMPACT). Although the WSM simulates all major water use sectors, the focus of this study is to evaluate the implications of climate change on irrigation water supply in the catchments of the Limpopo River Basin within the four riparian countries: Botswana, Mozambique, South Africa, and Zimbabwe. The analysis found that water resources of the Limpopo River Basin are already stressed under todays climate conditions. Projected water infrastructure and management interventions are expected to improve the situation by 2050 if current climate conditions continue into the future. However, under the climate change scenarios studied here, water supply availability is expected to worsen considerably by 2050. Assessing hydrological impacts of climate change is crucial given that expansion of irrigated areas has been postulated as a key adaptation strategy for Sub-Saharan Africa. Such expansion will need to take into account future changes in water availability in African river basins. 2012 2013-12-19T04:26:01Z 2014-02-02T16:39:50Z 2013-12-19T04:26:01Z 2014-02-02T16:39:50Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/34687 en Open Access MDPI Zhu, T. and C. Ringler. 2012. Climate Change Impacts on Water Availability and Use in the Limpopo River Basin. Water 4(1): 63-84.
spellingShingle hydrology
water resources
irrigation
reliability
limpopo river basin
Zhu, T.
Ringler, Claudia
Climate Change Impacts on Water Availability and Use in the Limpopo River Basin
title Climate Change Impacts on Water Availability and Use in the Limpopo River Basin
title_full Climate Change Impacts on Water Availability and Use in the Limpopo River Basin
title_fullStr Climate Change Impacts on Water Availability and Use in the Limpopo River Basin
title_full_unstemmed Climate Change Impacts on Water Availability and Use in the Limpopo River Basin
title_short Climate Change Impacts on Water Availability and Use in the Limpopo River Basin
title_sort climate change impacts on water availability and use in the limpopo river basin
topic hydrology
water resources
irrigation
reliability
limpopo river basin
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/34687
work_keys_str_mv AT zhut climatechangeimpactsonwateravailabilityanduseinthelimpoporiverbasin
AT ringlerclaudia climatechangeimpactsonwateravailabilityanduseinthelimpoporiverbasin