Water storage in an era of climate change: addressing the challenge of increasing rainfall variability. Blue paper

Rainfall variability is a key constraint to agricultural production and economic growth in many developing countries. This is likely to be exacerbated in many places as rainfall variability is amplified (even where the total amount of rain increases) as a result of climate change. Changes in rainfal...

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Main Authors: McCartney, Matthew P., Smakhtin, Vladimir U.
Format: Informe técnico
Language:Inglés
Published: International Water Management Institute 2010
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/39781
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author McCartney, Matthew P.
Smakhtin, Vladimir U.
author_browse McCartney, Matthew P.
Smakhtin, Vladimir U.
author_facet McCartney, Matthew P.
Smakhtin, Vladimir U.
author_sort McCartney, Matthew P.
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Rainfall variability is a key constraint to agricultural production and economic growth in many developing countries. This is likely to be exacerbated in many places as rainfall variability is amplified (even where the total amount of rain increases) as a result of climate change. Changes in rainfall will also increase variability in groundwater recharge and river flow, thus affecting all water sources. Water storage, in its various forms, provides a mechanism for dealing with variability which, if planned and managed correctly, increases water security, agricultural productivity and adaptive capacity. As such, water storage can make an important contribution to safeguarding livelihoods and reducing rural poverty. However, ill-conceived water storage is a waste of financial resources and, rather than mitigate, may aggravate unpleasant climate change impacts. Systems that combine complementary storage options are likely to be more adaptable and acceptable than those based on a single storage type. More systematic planning and management is required to avoid the mistakes of the past and to ensure more effective and suitable storage systems for the future.
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spelling CGSpace397812025-11-07T09:01:22Z Water storage in an era of climate change: addressing the challenge of increasing rainfall variability. Blue paper McCartney, Matthew P. Smakhtin, Vladimir U. water storage climate change rain dams reservoirs Rainfall variability is a key constraint to agricultural production and economic growth in many developing countries. This is likely to be exacerbated in many places as rainfall variability is amplified (even where the total amount of rain increases) as a result of climate change. Changes in rainfall will also increase variability in groundwater recharge and river flow, thus affecting all water sources. Water storage, in its various forms, provides a mechanism for dealing with variability which, if planned and managed correctly, increases water security, agricultural productivity and adaptive capacity. As such, water storage can make an important contribution to safeguarding livelihoods and reducing rural poverty. However, ill-conceived water storage is a waste of financial resources and, rather than mitigate, may aggravate unpleasant climate change impacts. Systems that combine complementary storage options are likely to be more adaptable and acceptable than those based on a single storage type. More systematic planning and management is required to avoid the mistakes of the past and to ensure more effective and suitable storage systems for the future. 2010 2014-06-13T14:29:24Z 2014-06-13T14:29:24Z Report https://hdl.handle.net/10568/39781 en Open Access application/pdf International Water Management Institute McCartney, Matthew; Smakhtin, Vladimir. 2010. Water storage in an era of climate change: addressing the challenge of increasing rainfall variability. Blue paper. Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Water Management Institute (IWMI). 14p. doi: https://doi.org/10.5337/2010.012
spellingShingle water storage
climate change
rain
dams
reservoirs
McCartney, Matthew P.
Smakhtin, Vladimir U.
Water storage in an era of climate change: addressing the challenge of increasing rainfall variability. Blue paper
title Water storage in an era of climate change: addressing the challenge of increasing rainfall variability. Blue paper
title_full Water storage in an era of climate change: addressing the challenge of increasing rainfall variability. Blue paper
title_fullStr Water storage in an era of climate change: addressing the challenge of increasing rainfall variability. Blue paper
title_full_unstemmed Water storage in an era of climate change: addressing the challenge of increasing rainfall variability. Blue paper
title_short Water storage in an era of climate change: addressing the challenge of increasing rainfall variability. Blue paper
title_sort water storage in an era of climate change addressing the challenge of increasing rainfall variability blue paper
topic water storage
climate change
rain
dams
reservoirs
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/39781
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