Target 3.3.1.: By 20XX, water management knowledge, in particular related to adaptation and mitigation , shall inform and guide the UNFCCC Adaptation Committee, and shall be adequately addressed under the mechanism of the Green Climate Fund, as an outcome of COP 17 and COP 18 decisions.
Target Rationale
Water is the primary medium through which climate change impacts will be felt by humans and the environment . Moreover, water is critical for climate change mitigation, as many efforts to reduce carbon emissions rely on water availability for their long-term success. Building resilience to climate change requires ”upgrading” the management of water as a resource as well as a hazard. Overall, sustainable water management has acquired a new urgency in the face of drivers such as population growth and greater hydrological variability caused by climate change. Increasingly rapid urbanisation adds further to the challenge. Cities in all countries are faced with a wide range of challenges to maintain and improve water security but in low and middle income countries resources for climate informed security will be stretched.
It is critical that the cross-cutting nature of water is sufficiently acknowledged and that water management is fully integrated into climate adaptation and mitigation measures. However, the fundamental relationship between water and climate has not yet been sufficiently recognised in global political and development forums. Water must be addressed comprehensively through the establishment of appropriate programmes at local, regional and global levels, and be integrated more effectively into existing mechanisms under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Water management must be communicated as part of an integrated strategy for climate change adaptation and mitigation, not as a separate process.
The climate negotiations under the UNFCCC are a major political process that influences decision-making processes and funding mechanisms. It is therefore important that existing knowledge and experiences in the water community will inform the decisions on relevant programmes and mechanisms under the UNFCCC.
Target Description
The target is based on the collaborative efforts by the Water and Climate Coalition (WCC) and its partners . It builds on the WCC position elaborated in response to the climate negotiations and seeks to identify possible hooks in the current development of the UNFCCC Adaptation framework and the UNFCCC Financial Mechanism. The Coalition finds that there is a need for linking water expertise and the formal decision making process under the UNFCCC.
The session related to target 3.3.1 will be part of the water community efforts to connect with the UNFCCC negotiations, in an integrated approach with the World Water Forum processes. The session will bring water managers and high level national representatives together to discuss the necessary steps to integrate water more comprehensively into the climate agenda and ensure that water is adequately addressed in relevant programmes and mechanisms under the UNFCCC.
(3 votes, average: 4.33 out of 5)
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Climate Change Impact and implications in Kerala (India)
The Earth’s climate is not static, and has changed many times in response to a variety of natural causes. ‘Climate change’ refers to a change in the state of the climate that can be identified (e.g., using statistical tests) by changes in the mean and/or the variability of its properties, and that persists for an extended period, typically decades or longer. Climate change may be due to internal processes and external forcing. Some external influences, such as changes in solar radiation and volcanism, occur naturally and contribute to the total natural variability of the climate system. Other external changes, such as the change in composition of the atmosphere that began with the industrial revolution, are the result of human activity. (IPCC, 2007)
Weather refers to the behavior of the atmosphere on a day-to-day basis in a relatively smaller area. Weather parameters are daily temperature, relative humidity, sunshine, wind and rainfall. Describing these parameters for a location defines the weather for that locality. The weather of a day during the monsoon season may be described as rainy and windy; hot during summer; and cold during winter. (ADPC, 2005)
Climate in a narrow sense is usually defined as the ‘average weather’, or more rigorously, as the statistical description in terms of the mean and variability of relevant quantities over a period of time ranging from months to thousands or millions of years. These quantities are most often surface variables such as temperature, precipitation, and wind. Climate in a wider sense is the state, including a statistical description, of the climate system. The classical period of time is 30 years, as defined by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). (IPCC, 2007)
Global warming is the increase in the average measured temperature of the Earth‘s near-surface air and oceans since the mid-20th century, and its projected continuation.
Recent Implications of Climate Change in Kerala.
a. Chikungunya in Kerala due to climate change.
In 2008, World health Organisation (WHO) reported that an outbreak of chikungunya in Kerala in the last two years (2006 and 2007) was mainly due to climate change. Climate change was one of the key factors of the chikungunya outbreak in Kerala during 2006 and 2007,” says Poonam Khetrapal Singh, deputy regional director (Southeast Asia) of WHO. “Global warming is a major cause of surge in chikungunya, dengue and malaria. These vector borne diseases will intensify with climate change and more people and new areas will fall prey to it,” Singh said on the occasion of 2008 World Health Day. In the last two years, over 100 people died, while more than 100,000 were affected by the mosquito-borne disease in the coastal state.“There are other reasons of the spread of the disease but climate change cannot be denied as a prime reason. Due to change in climate, it becomes conducive for mosquitoes to spread to new areas and affect people,”. Chikungunya is a viral disease that spreads through the bite of infected mosquitoes. It is characterised by severe, sometimes persistent, joint pain, as well as fever and rash.
b. Lowering of Groundwater table in Kerala due to Climate change
c. Rise in sea level along the coast of Kerala and Lakshadeep islands.
Dr. Roy, so far we don’t have any solution with reference to Climate change. I would encourage you to submit some solutions with reference to this priority: http://www.solutionsforwater.org/submit-a-solution.
Climate Change impacts :
http://www.cchrindia.org/gp/climate-change/sub2ELND9.aspx
Climate change impacts and decline of agricultural crops in Kerala (India)
Kerala is a small strip of land lying at the south-west tip of India. It lies to the north of the equator between 8° 18′ and 12° 48′ north latitude and 74° 52′ and 77° 24′ east longitude. Kerala extends over an area of 38,863 sq.km which is only 1.03 percent of the total area of India. It has a total coastline of 580 km. Its width varies greatly from west to east. It is about 120 kilometres at its maximum and just 30 kilometres at its minimum.
Although Kerala lies close to the equator, its proximity with the sea and the presence of the fort like Western Ghats, provides it with an equable climate which varies little from season to season. The temperature varies from 28° to 32° C. Southwest Monsoon and Retreating Monsoon ( Northeast Monsoon) are the main rainy seasons. Owing to its diversity in geographical features, the climatic condition in Kerala is diverse. It can be divided into 4 seasons – Winter, Summer, South-West Monsoon and North-East Monsoon.
Rainfall pattern: Kerala showed decreasing trend in monsoon rainfall for the period 1901-2007. After 1999,rainfall was below long term average rainfall (except in 2006). Another study showed that Kerala experienced decline in annual monsoon rainfall during the recent past decades(1961 and 2003 ).Rainfall data for the IMD stations of the State of Kerala for the period from 1871 to 2008(140 years) revealed a declining trend in annual and southwest monsoon rainfall during the past 60 years.
Decline of agricultural crops: Kerala state was facing serious crisis in major areas of food security, agriculture and marine resources due to climate change. The agriculture sector in Kerala was badly affected due to continuous rain.The untimely rain in Kerala, which hit the entire region since March 14, 2008 has caused crop damage and flooding. It is estimated that farmers could not harvest paddy worth about Rs. 128 crores (1280 million rupees) due to unexpected flooding in the Kuttanad fields.
The thermo-sensitive crops like black pepper, cardamom, tea, coffee and cocoa will be badly affected as temperature range (the difference between maximum and minimum temperatures) is likely to increase and rainfall is likely to decline.Heavy pre-monsoon showers (and a lethal attack by wasps) may hit pepper production in Kerala, the main producer of the commodity in India.Increase in maximum temperature of 1-3° C during summer 2004 adversely affected thermo-sensitive crops like black pepper and cocoa in Kerala (Rao et al.,2008). Records show that almost all the plantation crops suffered to a great extent in 1983 and 2004 due to disastrous summer droughts.Climate change and unseasonal rain in November and January over the last two years(2009 and 2010) had been dampened the prospects of mango farmers inPalakkad district in Kerala.
Temperature: Temperature data for seven IMD (India Meteorological Department) stations of Kerala were collected from National Data Centre of IMD, Pune from 1956 to 2004.(49years) There was an increase in maximum temperature over Kerala by 0.64° C during the period of 49 years. It was further observed a clear upward trend in surface air temperature of Kerala.
Lowering of water tables: It was observed by the Central Groundwater board that lowering of water tables in certain regions of Kerala reported to be critical and alarming.
Thank you for this interesting case study. We have received your solution with reference to this problem. It will be published as soon as it is validated.
Thank you for your information
You are welcome.