Water Scarcity Research opportunities for competing and conflicting demands

Transcription

1 Water Scarcity Research opportunities for competing and conflicting demands Prof. Dionysis Assimacopoulos School of Chemical Engineering National Technical University of Athens Greece

2 What is Scarcity? The situation where there is insufficient water to satisfy normal requirements Insufficient water supply? Insufficient access to water? Insufficient water quality? Insufficient institutional framework for water management and allocation? Insufficient socio-economic context? Normal requirements? Requirements of the past or of today?

3 Water Scarcity Nature, scale & related terms Terms used interchangeably PROCESS (environmental transformation) Man - made Natural Adapted from E. Vlachos, 1983 Scarcity vs. Drought Drought: Natural phenomenon Scarcity increases vulnerability to drought Scarcity vs. Shortage Water Shortage: Water is not sufficient to meet basic needs Scarcity vs. Stress Water Stress: The situation where the demand for water exceeds the available amount during a certain period, or when poor quality restricts its use

4 Revisiting the definition: What is Scarcity? 1 st order analysis Physical scarcity: limited access to water resources, attributed either to climate conditions or to inefficient management (e.g. over abstraction) 2 nd order analysis Economic scarcity: economic inability of a society to utilize a water resource (e.g. inadequate development of water infrastructure) Social scarcity: Lack of capacity to adapt to physical scarcity (e.g. through change of lifestyle) Scarcity arising from socio-political processes (e.g. policies for intersectoral re-allocation, technology development)

5 Water Scarcity as the disparity between supply & demand Available renewable water resources were considered constant in time Natural system (hydrological cycle, soil properties) Finite capacity to cope with pollutant effluents Lag time in recharging processes Climate change affects water availability & the resilience of natural systems Pressures on water resources increase in time Population growth & change of lifestyle Food production Land use changes Water quality degradation Inefficient water management Increasing competition over available water resources

6 MANAGING WATER SCARCITY: THE FRAMEWORK

7 Measuring Water Information & data Quantity: water balance and availability Quality: level of contaminants Service: access to water Governance & management structures Enabling environment Institutional roles Management instruments

8 Measuring Water Scarcity Knowledge Water availability & pressures Water Stress Index Renewable water resources per capita per year Water Resources Vulnerability Index Total annual withdrawals as a percent of available water resources Water Footprint Total volume of freshwater used to produce the goods and services consumed Social vulnerability Adaptive capacity Social Water Stress Index Incorporates the capacity to adapt to water stress through economic, technological or other means

9 Coping with Scarcity Appropriate responses

10 Policies for Scarcity Financing/rehabilitating/improving infrastructure Improving end-use efficiency Intra- and inter-sectoral water allocation policies Solving the dilemmas: energy production vs. agricultural production and food security Protecting ecosystems and biodiversity Ensuring equity in access to water and on the social impacts of water allocation policies Shifting from reactive, crisis-based to proactive and riskbased management (drought) Building capacity for constructively engaged IWRM Adapting to climate change & socio-economic conditions

11 WATER SCARCITY: THE EU POLICY & RESEARCH

12 Initiatives - Water Scarcity Policies Guiding policy: Water Framework Directive Related policies: CAP, Spatial Development, etc. Funding of infrastructure and programmes EC Water Scarcity Drafting Group (2006): Technical document on drought management and long-term imbalance issues in the framework of the WFD CIS EC Communication on Water scarcity (2007) Research EU funded research From FP1 in 1984 to the ongoing FP7, implemented jointly by six DGs ERANET European Environment Agency Joint Research Centre

13 EU Research for improved water management Programme Environment and Climate Theme Energy, environment and sustainable development Theme Sustainable development, Global Change and Ecosystems Theme Environment (including Climate Change)

14 Examples of research projects in support of Technological Innovation Water reclamation and aquifer recharge RECLAIM-water: Water reclamation technologies for safe artificial groundwater recharge Gabardine: Groundwater artificial recharge based on alternative sources of water: advanced integrated technologies and management Water desalination MEDINA: Membrane-based desalination: an integrated approach MEDESOL: Seawater desalination by innovative solar-powered membrane-distillation system Improved irrigation management PLEIADeS: Participatory multi-level EO-assisted tools for Irrigation water management and Agricultural Decision-Support FLOW-AID: Farm Level Optimal Water Management: Assistant for Irrigation under Deficit

15 Supply enhancement Reclamation & Artificial recharge RECLAIM-water Focus on new and improved water reclamation and reuse technologies Development of new analytical methods for chemical contaminants and pathogens Evaluation of the potential of soil aquifer treatment for groundwater recharge GABARDINE Analysis of the impact of largescale artificial recharge on present and future groundwater quality Research strategy: Integrative methodology for evaluating aquifer vulnerability to contamination factors, precipitation variability etc. Technologies for the storage of waters of various qualities

16 Supply enhancement Advances in desalination MEDINA Focus on frequent problems and drawbacks of the Reverse Osmosis (RO) process Research addresses all RO stages in an integrated way: Feed water characterization, RO module settings, fouling and scaling problems Optimization of post-treatment Reduction of energy consumption Minimization of brine disposal impacts MEDESOL Construction and testing of three prototype systems on Solar Membrane Distillation Evaluation of: Technical feasibility Economic viability for different demand scenarios projects/medesol/

17 Efficiency in water use Improved irrigation management PLEIADeS Application of new technologies (Earth observation, GIS, ICT, and Decision Support Systems) for improving and optimizing irrigation and drainage systems Participatory approach for integrated water management at the farm and basin-scale levels Use of spatial information and innovative networking tools FLOW-AID Integration of innovative sensor technologies into a Decision Support System for irrigation management Development, testing and finetuning of the system, which can be used at the farm-level in times of insufficient quantity/quality of water supply

18 Research projects in support of policy development Situation analysis, data collection & policy recommendations for the integration of supply-side interventions MEDCODESAL (FP4): Mediterranean cooperation for water desalination policies in the perspective of a sustainable development Integrated management in water deficient regions WFD implementation issues ARID CLUSTER (FP5): Cluster of three research projects on water use and management in arid and semi-arid regions Constructively engaged IWRM AQUASTRESS (FP6): Mitigation of Water Stress through new Approaches to Integrating Management, Technical, Economic and Institutional Instruments INECO (FP6): Institutional and Economic Instruments for Sustainable Water Management in the Mediterranean Region Policy insight for addressing extreme hydrological events XEROCHORE (FP7): An Exercise to Assess Research Needs and Policy Choices in Areas of Drought

19 The WaterStrategyMan project Focus: Water deficiency, demand management, WFD implementation Aims: Develop and evaluate alternative strategies for: Alleviating water stress in Southern European water deficient regions Addressing WFD implementation aspects Development of a prototype GIS-based DSS for analysing Water management options Water allocation policies Cost allocation schemes The WSM DSS modules and interface

20 The AquaStress project Focus: Diagnosis and Mitigation of water stress Aim: Development of stakeholder-driven, European scale, comprehensive multisectoral and integrated approaches Application in test sites representative of the range of water stress conditions: Italy, Spain, Cyprus, Morocco, The Netherlands, Poland, Bulgaria, Tunisia Main results: Water Stress Matrix Evaluation of water stress mitigation options Development of a knowledge base on water stress mitigation Integrated Solution Support System Added value: Multidisciplinary & stakeholder- driven research based on public involvement Investigation of linkages with existing policies (e.g. WFD, CAP, local/national development policies) Water (use) sector-specific recommendations for water stress mitigation

21 The AquaStress framework Test site Stakeholder Analysis Water stress characterization Case Study definition and implementation Problem Analysis Objective Analysis Regional Output

22 The INECO Project Focus: Public participation, institutional and economic instruments to address a range of WM issues, including: Water stress Inefficient water use Water quality deterioration, environmental degradation & limited access to water services Aims: Promote the exchange of best available practices Enhance synergies to facilitate the uptake of research for decisionmaking Build capacity for constructively engaged IWRM Added value Recognition of the institutional deficiencies leading to water stress Public participation in support of regional and national (MED) integrated policy proposals

23 New research directions to respond to new challenges IMPLICATIONS & RECOMMENDATIONS

24 Research on water scarcity Need for revisiting? Past shortcomings Collection & analysis of data: Not sufficient for assessing water resources Of little use for addressing water scarcity Knowledge gaps on adjusting management instruments to local conditions Partial implementation of policy instruments due to lack of scientific knowledge (and socio-political implications) Lack of integration in research Inadequate links between research and decision (or policy) making New challenges Rapidly changing conditions & increasing natural hazards Climate change Socio-economic environment Increasing environmental degradation & allocation conflicts New global policies

25 EU policy and research orientations Integration of supply-side and demand-side interventions Wider application of economic instruments and pricing - compulsory metering Promotion of efficient water allocation & use Integration of water-related issues in EU policies Fostering the emergence of a water-saving culture in Europe Risk and impact assessment of alternative options at the local level Research on the adaptation of economic activities to water scarcity and droughts, water efficiency and decision-making tools Support, coordination, networking and dissemination of research efforts at the EU and national levels Source: EC Communication on Addressing the challenge of water scarcity and droughts in the European Union, COM(2007) 414

26 The research cycle revisited For addressing emerging challenges Understanding forecasting mitigating adapting To incorporate new concepts & ways of thinking Adaptive capacity: water capital and social capital Risk assessment and resilience assessment Evaluation of impacts (economic, environmental, social) in an inclusive & integrative way Designing the future instead of adapting to external drivers

27 Emerging research pathways Supply management Scarcity management Demand management Hardware (options, tools, methods) Technology Conjunctive use, effluent recycling, small-scale interventions, improved storage, water harvesting Socio-economics Social learning, water valuation, economic instruments, sociological analysis Technology Increasing efficiency, improved irrigation, ICT, crop modifications Software (capacity to implement) Multi-disciplinary, participative evaluation Establishment of durable links (research & industry, research & stakeholders, research & policy makers) Adaptation to local environmental conditions for effective implementation

28 Water scarcity is becoming a reality Man has created scarcity and has to overcome it or adapt to it Need for a paradigm shift in the allocation, management and utilization of water resources Need for innovative research to support this shift, learning from the successes and failures of the past Kouris Dam, Cyprus, 2004 Source: WDD, MANR&E, Cyprus Kouris Dam, Cyprus, 2008 Source: Reuters