Water related adaptation responses

 Event 

Water related adaptation responses: do they reduce climate-related impacts and risks?

Part of the Hazard, Risk and Disaster (HRD) Research Seminar Series 2020-21.

Anthropogenic climate change impacts every aspect of water security^[1] through changes in water availability and quality, increases in water induced disasters due to extreme events, and changes in ecosystems and their services. All of these directly impact human societies, with often the most vulnerable most affected. Water insecurity is the first component of ongoing climatic changes and is directly impacting people’s lives and livelihoods globally.

In response to climate and non-climate induced water insecurity, people and governments around the world are undertaking various adaptation responses involving combinations of technologies, incentives and policies. While there are many case studies of adaptation responses to water insecurity, there is a lack of understanding about whether and how these responses are effective in reducing risks of water insecurity. Most of the research papers on adaptation responses describe people’s perception of climate change, factors that help or impede adoption of adaptive responses, and adaptive capacity of the population – while very few actually evaluate the effectiveness of adaptation responses. In this presentation, Dr Aditi Mukherji will present some early results from her ongoing meta-review on effectiveness of water related responses in reducing water insecurity risks.

^[1] Water security is defined as "the capacity of a population to safeguard sustainable access to adequate quantities of acceptable quality water for sustaining livelihoods, human well-being, and socio-economic development, for ensuring protection against water-borne pollution and water-related disasters, and for preserving ecosystems in a climate of peace and political stability" (UN-Water, 2013).

About the speaker

Dr Aditi Mukherji is a Principal Researcher and leads the Research Group on Climate Change Adaptation and Resilience (CCAR) at the International Water Management Institute. Before this, she led the Water and Air Theme at the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) in Nepal. She has over 20 years of experience working on policies and institutions of water resources management with a special focus on water-energy-food nexus. She has worked in South Asia including the Hindu Kush Himalayan region, Nile basin and in Central Asia. She is currently a part of the 6th Assessment Report (AR6) team of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and is the Coordinating Lead Author (CLA) of the Water Chapter in the Working Group II on Adaptation and Vulnerability. She is also a member of Core Writing Team for the IPCC’s AR6 Synthesis Report.

Aditi is a human geographer by training and has a PhD from Cambridge University, United Kingdom where she was a Gates Cambridge Scholar. She has a M.Phil in Planning and Development from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Bombay and Masters and Bachelor’s degree in Geography from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi and Presidency College, Calcutta respectively.