Mountain water resources, climate change –
UNESCO’s interest
Dr. Anil Mishra
International Hydrological Programme (IHP)
UNESCO
International Network for Alpine Research
Catchment Hydrology
Inaugural Workshop
22‐24 October, 2015
Worldwide inventory of existing perennial ice and snow masses
The need for a worldwide inventory of existing
perennial ice and snow masses was first
considered during the International Hydrological
Decade, declared by UNESCO for 1965-1974.
Global Hydrologic Cycle
Source: Oki and Kanae 2006 Science
Water Security: key challenges of the 21st century
Some key facts
85% of the human
population live in
arid areas. By
2030, half of the
population will be
living in areas of
high water stress.
*Inventoried by UNESCO-IHP
6-8 million
human beings
are killed each
year from
water‐related
disasters and
diseases.
750 million
people lack
access to safe
water, while
nearly 2.5
billion people
lack access to
adequate
sanitation.
Mountain Ecosystem Services
Provisioning services: Water
Mountains are of global importance
Provisioning Services
Regulating Services
Cultural Services
Occupy 24% of the Earth’s
land surface and 1.2 billion
people live in and adjacent
to them
Mountain ecosystems
regulate climate, air
quality, and water flow.
Their glaciers and
ecosystems provide
some of the clearest
indicators of this global
phenomenon.
A high proportion of
the world’s cultural and
ethno-linguistic
diversity is found in
mountain areas,
representing the
legacy of human
habitation and
adaptation in these
challenging
environments.
Supply more than half of
humanity with water for
drinking, irrigation, industry,
food and energy production.
23% of their area is
essential to downstream
water supply.
Source: Martin F. Price and Paul A. Egan. Our global water towers: ensuring ecosystem services from mountains under climate change
Synthesis Report IPCC 2014 5TH Assessment
In recent decades, changes in climate
have caused impacts on natural and
human systems on all continents and
across the oceans;
Human interference with the climate
system is occurring, and climate change
poses risks for human and natural
systems;
Climate change over the 21st century is
projected to reduce renewable surface
water and groundwater resources
significantly in most dry subtropical
regions , intensifying competition for
water among sectors.
AR5 IPCC (2014) Key risks at the global scale
General:
• Freshwater-related risks increase
significantly with increasing
greenhouse gas emissions
• Each degree of warming is projected
to decrease renewable water
resources by at least 20% for an
additional 7% of the global
population.
1oC =
20%↓
7% of
global
Population
Water
Security:key
keychallenges
challenges ofof
the
21st
century
Water
Security:
the
21st
century
Some key
Some
keyfacts
facts
In many regions,
changing precipitation
or melting snow and ice
are altering hydrological
systems, affecting water
resources in terms of
quantity and quality
(medium confidence).
Glaciers continue to
shrink almost worldwide
due to climate change
(high confidence),
affecting runoff and
water resources
downstream (medium
confidence).
Climate change is causing
permafrost warming and
thawing in high-latitude
regions and in highelevation regions (high
confidence).
IPCC AR5 WG2 SPM (2014)
Global In situ Observing Systems: Limited coverage!
Global Precipitation
Gage Network (GPCC)
(GPCC)
Global Runoff
Gage Network
(GRDC)
Alpine Regions are Data Scarce
Altitudinal distribution of global runoff stations represented in the GRDC archive and global
precipitation station network represented in the GPCC archive compared to global hypsography of the
land surface area (without Greenland and Antarctica). The inset shows a magnification for altitudes
above 1500ma.s.l. (Viviroli et al. 2011).
Delivering responses: IHP-VIII
IPCC’s Fifth Assessment Report
WG-2 on Impacts, Adaptation
and Vulnerability (AR5) 2014:
Risks and Challenges
“the capacity of a population to safeguard
access to adequate quantities of water of
acceptable quality for sustaining human and
ecosystem health on a watershed basis, and to
ensure efficient protection of life and property
against water related hazards — floods,
landslides, land subsidence and droughts.”
IHP-VIII:
Water security: Responses to
local, regional and global
challenges
Water Security is
defined by UNESCO as:
IHP-VIII Responses: 6 Themes, 3 Axes
2014-2021
Axis Improve knowledge and innovation to address water security challenges.
Axis 3: Enhancing
policy advice to
reach water
security at local,
national, regional
and global levels.
Axis 2: Developing institutional
and human capacities for water
sustainability innovation
Snow and Ice Networks
Regional Glaciological Centre in Almaty Kazakhstan
High Level Panel session: Climate
Change Impacts on Water Resources
and Adaptation policies in
Mountainous regions
Working Group on Snow, Ice
and Glaciers (GTNH)-LAC
Project: The Impact of Glacier Retreat in the Andes: International
Multidisciplinary Network for Adaptation Strategies 2012-2016
“The Impact of Glacier Retreat in the Andes:
International Multidisciplinary Network for
Adaptation Strategies” Lima, Peru 29-30, May 2012
Science policy workshop
Impacts of Global Climate Change on Snow, Glaciers and
Water Resources in the Andes: Policy recommendations for
Adaptation Strategies Quito, Ecuador 20-21 November 2013
“Melting snow and glaciers in the Andes: Science,
technology and policy for adaptation to cope
with complexity in the context of climate
change”, 12-15 September 2011, Santiago, Chile
Water Security Activities and Climate Change Adaptation
Field course on glacier monitoring and
mass balance (Valdivia Chile, 2012). Coorganized in partnership with ACCION and
GTNH-LAC
International Workshop ' Development of near-term climate
scenarios (2020-2035) for vulnerable watersheds’ 2014
Panta Rhei––IAHS Scientific Decade 2013–2022
Change in Hydrology and Society
Targets:
 Understanding
 Estimation and prediction
 Science in practice
Research Theme and Working Group on
Mountain Hydrology
(Figure adapted from Thompson et al., HESS, 2013)
17
International Network for Alpine Research Catchment Hydrology
INARCH-GEWEX
INARCH: to better understand alpine cold regions hydrological processes, improve their
prediction and find consistent measurement strategies.
To achieve this objective it is necessary to develop transferable and validated hydrological
model schemes of different complexity that can support research in data sparse mountain
areas dominated by elements of snow, permafrost and glacier cover.
INARCH was accepted by The Global Energy and Water Cycle Exchanges Project (GEWEX) )
Saving ice in Danger : "Ice Core Heritage“
3rd Pamir High Elevation International Geophysical Expedition
(HEIGE)*: Working Group Meeting UNESCO, Paris, 27-29 April 2015
The proposed research project: “3rd Pamir’s High
Elevation International Geophysical Expedition”
(HEIGE), will advance evaluation of the past,
present, and future climate and water resources in
Pamir by assessing impacts of natural variability
and modern human activity.
The results of HEIGE are critical for the
development of adaptation and mitigation
practices required to maximize socio-economic
sustainability in Central Asia in a changing climate
*Coordinated by International Hydrological Programme (IHP) and International Geoscience Programme (IGCP)
From COP20 to COP21: Exhibition
'Climate change impacts on mountain
regions of the world‘
'Mountains: early warning systems for
climate change‘
Publications
Publications
Inception meeting Paris 9-10 February 2015
“Addressing Water Security: Climate Impacts and Adaptation Responses in
Africa, the Americas, Asia and Europe”
Addressing Water Security: Climate Impacts and Adaptation responses
in Africa, the Americas, Asia and Europe
VULNERABILITY
ASSESSMENT,
MAPPING AND
IMPLEMENTATION
OF ADAPTATION
STRATEGIES
RAISE AWARENESS
ON POTENTIAL
IMPACTS OF CLIMATE
CHANGE ON
MOUNTAIN
GLACIERS AND
DOWNSTREAM
WATER SUPPLY
DEVELOPMENT
OF A GLOBAL
KNOWLEDGE
FORUM
2015: SDG, COP-21, 7th World Water Forum, DRR
Conference “Our
Commun Future”
Paris
7th World Water
Forum Korea
July
April
3rd World DRR
conference
Sendai
March
COP21 Paris,
France,
December,
2015
Sustainable
Development
goals
IHP VIII
Programmes and
Initiatives
Thank you!