Adaptations to Climate Change - Challenges in Water-sanitation

Dr. Seetharam M RFANSA

SVYM, India

• Freshwater Action Network– Strong networks in Africa, South Asia, Central

America; growing networks in South America, Mexico • Freshwater Action Network, South Asia– 5 countries; 12 states in India;

• Network of CSOs

• Swami Vivekananda Youth Movement svym@svym.org.in

Recent floods and rain in N Karnataka

Recent floods and rain in N Karnataka

• Altered rainfall pattern– Sept-Oct 2009– Usual rainfall

• In the region – 35 mm; Actual rainfall: 251mm• In Bijapur District – 34 mm vs 334 mm

• Issues of Reservoir management• Predictability, Preparedness• Weakness of the infrastructure to cope with such

situations• Associated challenges – HEALTH, SANITATION

Changing disease patterns….• The epidemic of Dengue and

chickungunya

Indicates • Altered rain patterns• Poor sanitation – cesspools

etc• Altered vector patterns

• To be viewed in the socio cultural setting of the community

• Groundwater table in HDKote– Water – so near, yet so deep!!

• Impact of tsunami• The struggles in Bangladesh and Nepal……

Some basic truths….

• Climate change is happening…• Water - the main mechanism of impact of climate

change on people as well as eco system..• Water and thereby sanitation are the main

mechanisms for impacting human health..• Achieving wat-san MDGs are key to achieving

other MDGs, but currently, sanitation is way off track…..

• Costs of impacts enormous….

•Climate Change exerts its impacts mainly thro water.•Other impacts are mediated thro the primary impact on water

•An already-stressed, finite resource is further jeopardized by the direct and indirect impacts of climate change.•Optimal management of this resource is key to achieving all the MDGs – indeed to the very health of the ecosystem

The policies and practices in water management can have short and long term effects on climate change, and therefore potentially magnify all the other deleterious effects.

Hence the imperative attention to WATER as the central focus of adaptation to CC

Food, energy, livelihood, environment….

FANSA

Climate change impact on water cycle

• Amount, intensity and distribution of precipitation• Alterations in run-offs

– Ground water levels– Coastal zones

• Tsunami; Erosion; salinity– Water quality

• Concentration effect; floods-droughts leading to contamination– Water Storage-management – Reservoirs

• Silt– River basins

• Food security

Serious Impacts on water for drinking and domestic consumption

Climate change impact on water cycle

Climate Change Impacts on sanitation and Health

• Diseases caused as Direct impacts– Heat strokes etc

• Diseases due to Climate-induced impacts on environment (Floods-drought etc)– Diarrhoeal diseases; vector borne diseases;

Starvation-malnutrition; allergic disorders• Health consequences due to economic, social

and other changes– Migration; Nutrition; mental illnesses

The key areas of concern….

• ACCESS - Serious crisis of availability of safe and adequate drinking water

• HEALTH -Public Health considerations to get adequate priority

• EQUITY – in the face competing demands to ensure inclusivity and proper prioritization – sector (drinking, agri, industrial etc), geographic, social.

• COMMUNITY-CENTRICITY - community-centric planning rather than Technology- or funds-driven planning

The key areas of concern….ACCESS

HEALTH

EQUITY

COMMUNITY CENTRICITY

Adaptation is not merely infrastructural, but is a complex interplay of many institutional mechanisms, including policy, finance and governance.

Adopting the right Adaptation approach…

• Source: Dessai and Hulme, 2004.

Approaches to drinking water access……

• Diversification of water sources– Avoiding Single source dependence– Rain water harvesting

• Resilient, sustainable water supply systems• Surface water management• Reservoir management– Requirements vs flood run offs; safety issues;

• Ensuring adequate groundwater recharge– High intensity precipitation with rapid evaporation rates

Approaches to reduce health impacts

Adaptation optionNo. that benefit Feasibility Barriers Cost

Inter-agency cooperation +++ ++ ++ +Reduction of social vulnerability +++ + ++ +Public education

+++ +++ + +Improvements of public health infrastructure ++ + + ++Support for infectious disease control ++ +++ + +Monitoring and surveillance of environmental, biological and health status ++ +++Urban design (including transport systems) + + ++ ++Housing, sanitation, water quality + + + +

G = global, R = regional, N = national, L = local. Source: McMichael et al., 2000.

Policy-planning guidelines thru UNFCCC

• Convergence at the level of planning – mainstreaming of ‘adaptation’ into current schemes, of development initiatives in general, and water management in particular

• To Ensure Water Access– IWRM approach– Ensuring priority for drinking water over other competing water

needs– Priority for water in adaptation interventions

• Focus on Public Health in Adaptation Plans– 2009 preparatory documents – only 4 out of 49 speak of health

as a concern (McMicheal et al,www.lancet.com)

Policy-planning guidelines thru UNFCCC

• Enhancing accountability thro support to participatory and democratic processes

• Support for resolution of contentious issues like trans boundary water

• Regional balance – equitable distribution of funds, functions and functionaries

• Special focus on vulnerable groups • Balanced move towards ‘privatisation’ and pricing, with a

recognition of Human Rights – Willingness to pay vs Ability to pay.

• Guidelines for habitations – urbanisation/ rehabilitation/ migration

Policy-planning guidelines thro UNFCCC

• Support for Community involvement, awareness; – The River users groups in Tamil Nadu– Decentralisation of planning and decision making.

• Promotion of, and building on, Relevant traditional practices– The lakes in South India; the open well system

• Economic development to be ‘clean’ and eco-sensitive – Avoiding ‘developmental disasters ‘– resulting in large scale

displacement• Mitigation and Adaptation mechanisms themselves to be

safe and holistic

Climate proofing• Mandatory Environmental Impact Assessment to determine

the impact of the project on the environment• Need for reverse impact assessment – assess the impact of the

environment on the project– Defining existing conditions/components; – Projecting and estimating likely future changes for each component; – Recording extent of interactions and identifying the variabilities– Determining critical thresholds when risk of a climate change impact

becomes dangerous; and – Determining value of these impacts economically as financial loss and

biologically.

• The ifs and buts of the River Linking Project…..

Costs of adaptationAgency Overall adaptation cost

projectedUNFCCC 49 – 171 b USD /y by 2030

Oxfam >50 b USD /y

World Bank 9-41 b USD /y

UNDP 86-109 b USD /y by 2015

•Significant variations in the projections.•Agriculture, water, health, ecosytems, coastal areas, infrastructure•Projections have been analysed and critiqued .Martin Parry et al; www.iied.org/pubs/pdfs/11501IIED.pdf

Cost of adaptation – water sector

• Expenses to be considered– Cost of explicit measures– Transactional costs– Costs of residual impacts

• Estimate – 9-11b $ per year by 2030

• Likely to be higher due to:– Does not include other measures like managing flood

risk, water quality etc– Does not include the costs of residual impacts– Represents only the additional investment

Cost of adaptation – Health sector• Expenses to be considered

– Cost of improving/modifying health protection systems – eg surveillance, training

– Cost of modifications of hospitals, staff safety etc– Disease burden prevention costs– Research– Meeting newer standards of pollution control

• Estimated to be 5-12 b $• Likely to be higher due to:

– Disease burden not fully considered; decline in rates assumed– Cost escalations over time– Residual impacts in the form of failure of prevention

In conclusion

• Climate change impacts are inevitable, and hence the imperative to ‘adapt’

• Water, the main mechanism of impact, and hence of adaptation as well

• Access, Health, Equity and Community-centricity – the main challenges to be addressed

Climate Change adaptation without focus on water, is a watered down effort.

Focus on Water for Climate Change Adaptation

NOW, nurtures the Change in all sectors for

TOMORROW!

THANK YOUemmaress@svym.net