Climate Change in Contrasting River Basins: Adaptation Strategies for Water, Food and Environment (Cabi Publishing)

Aerts (Institute for Environmental Studies, Free U., The Netherlands) and Droogers (FutureWater, The Netherlands) present the results of project that sought to develop a generic methodology for developing and assessing adaptation strategies for river basins impacted by climate change. The volume first explains the general framework of the methodology, which derives socioeconomic and environmental storylines for the basins, selects models at basin and field scales for simulating hydrology and food production, assesses climate change and climate variability impacts on regional water management, and defines and evaluations adaptation strategies for water managers. The application of the methodology is then explained for seven case studies from the Mekong basin; South-east Asia; the Rhine basin, Western Europe; the Sacramento basin, US; the Syr Darya basin, Central Asia; the Volta Basin, Ghana; the Walawe Basin, Sri Lanka; and the Zayandeh basin; Iran. Distributed in the US by Oxford U. Press. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR Dealing with climate change is generally considered to be one of the greatest challenges for the coming decades. Changes in precipitation are likely to have a major impact on the hydrological cycle and subsequently on the environment and food production. However, until now clear guidance on how to respond to this challenge, particularly at the river basin level, has been lacking.This book has been developed from the ADAPT project, focusing on the development of regional adaptation strategies for water, food and the environment in river basins across the world. A generic methodology is presented and applied to seven case studies in contrasting geographical areas of the world: Mekong (SE Asia), Rhine (Western Europe), Sacramento (USA), Syr Darya (Central Asia), Volta (Ghana), Walawe (Sri Lanka) and Zayandeh (Iran). "This book has been developed from the ADAPT Project, focusing on the development of regional adaptation strategies for water, food and the environment in river basins across the world. A generic methodology is presented and applied to seven case studies in contrasting geographical areas of the world. The book provides a unique contribution and will interest researchers in climatology, geography, ecology, agriculture, environmental studies and related disciplines."--Jacket