Sensitivity of water scarcity events to ENSO-driven climate variability at the global scale

Globally, freshwater shortage is one of the most dangerous risks for society. Changing hydro-climatic and socioeconomic conditions have aggravated water scarcity over the past decades. A wide range of studies show that water scarcity will intensify in the future, as a result of both increased consumptive water use and, in some regions, climate change. Although it is well-known that El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) affects patterns of precipitation and drought at global and regional scales, little attention has yet been paid to the impacts of climate variability on water scarcity conditions, despite its importance for adaptation planning. Therefore, we present the first global-scale sensitivity assessment of water scarcity to ENSO, the most dominant signal of climate variability

KKF-Model Platform Coupling : summary report KKF01b

Nederland bereidt zich voor op een sneller stijgende zeespiegel en een veranderend klimaat. Hiervoor is het Deltaprogramma gestart. Dit deltaprogramma voorziet een serie beslissingen die grote gevolgen zullen hebben voor het beheer van het water in Nederland. Om deze beslissingen zorgvuldig te nemen is informatie nodig over hoe het klimaat en de stijgende zeespiegel dit waterbeheer zullen beïnvloeden. De modellen die de gevolgen van klimaatverandering berekenen zullen daarom met dezelfde klimaat forcering en gekoppeld aan elkaar moeten worden gebruikt. In dit onderzoek is gekeken naar het linken van hydrologische en hydrodynamische modellen – en daaraan gekoppelde modellen die de ontwikkelingen in natuur en landgebruik modelleren -- die het gebied van de Alpen tot en met de Noordzee inclusief Nederland beschrijven

Water scarcity hotspots travel downstream due to human interventions in the 20th and 21st century

Water scarcity is rapidly increasing in many regions. In a novel, multi-model assessment, we examine how human interventions (HI: land use and land cover change, man-made reservoirs and human water use) affected monthly river water availability and water scarcity over the period 1971-2010. Here we show that HI drastically change the critical dimensions of water scarcity, aggravating water scarcity for 8.8% (7.4-16.5%) of the global population but alleviating it for another 8.3% (6.4-15.8%). Positive impacts of HI mostly occur upstream, whereas HI aggravate water scarcity downstream; HI cause water scarcity to travel downstream. Attribution of water scarcity changes to HI components is complex and varies among the hydrological models. Seasonal variation in impacts and dominant HI components is also substantial. A thorough consideration of the spatially and temporally varying interactions among HI components and of uncertainties is therefore crucial for the success of water scarcity adaptation by HI

Water scarcity at the global and regional scales: unravelling its dominant drivers in historical and future time periods

Aerts, J.C.J.H. [Promotor]Ward, P.J. [Copromotor

British Railways Board report appendix London Terminus comparative study; local traffic impacts part 2; figures

Part 2 of 2Available from British Library Document Supply Centre- DSC:fGPC/098 / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreSIGLEGBUnited Kingdo

Consultation paper Non-domestic rating - payment of interest

SIGLEAvailable from British Library Document Supply Centre- DSC:GPC/05374 / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreGBUnited Kingdo

Assessment of the effectiveness of flood adaptation strategies for HCMC

Coastal cities are vulnerable to flooding, and flood risk to coastal cities will increase due to sea-level rise. Moreover, Asian cities in particular are subject to considerable population growth and associated urban developments, increasing this risk even more. Empirical data on vulnerability and the cost and benefits of flood risk reduction measures are therefore paramount for sustainable development of these cities. This paper presents an approach to explore the impacts of sea-level rise and socio-economic developments on flood risk for the flood-prone District 4 in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, and to develop and evaluate the effects of different adaptation strategies (new levees, dry- and wet proofing of buildings and elevating roads and buildings). A flood damage model was developed to simulate current and future flood risk using the results from a household survey to establish stage-damage curves for residential buildings. The model has been used to assess the effects of several participatory developed adaptation strategies to reduce flood risk, expressed in expected annual damage (EAD). Adaptation strategies were evaluated assuming combinations of both sea-level scenarios and land-use scenarios. Together with information on costs of these strategies, we calculated the benefit-cost ratio and net present value for the adaptation strategies until 2100, taking into account depreciation rates of 2.5% and 5%. The results of this modelling study indicate that the current flood risk in District 4 is USD 0.31 million per year, increasing up to USD 0.78 million per year in 2100. The net present value and benefit-cost ratios using a discount rate of 5 % range from USD -107 to -1.5 million, and from 0.086 to 0.796 for the different strategies. Using a discount rate of 2.5% leads to an increase in both net present value and benefit-cost ratio. The adaptation strategies wet-proofing and dry-proofing generate the best results using these economic indicators. The information on different strategies will be used by the government of Ho Chi Minh City to determine a new flood protection strategy. Future research should focus on gathering empirical data right after a flood on the occurring damage, as this appears to be the most uncertain factor in the risk assessment. © 2014 Author(s)