The impact of climate change on water resources
Matilde de Souza and Victor Nascimento
Abstract: This article discusses the impact of climate change on water resources. We present an understanding of water governance, discuss the relationship between climate change and water, and reflect on the challenges faced by Brazil.
Climate change directly impacts the quality and availability of water on the planet. These impacts are present, for example, in the increase in droughts and floods, the change in the course of rivers, their contamination, the reduction of ice sheets, and the rise in ocean levels (Water…, s/d). Water Day is celebrated in March each year, and it symbolizes the efforts of the United Nations to raise awareness and adopt policies to solve water problems. This year, the theme of the date was “Water for Peace,” and the connection between water scarcity and the emergence of conflicts was emphasized. Around three billion people depend on transboundary waters, but there are a series of obstacles to sharing them (World…, s/d). Our objective in this article is to discuss the impact of climate change with a focus on water resources management. Therefore, we will present a brief overview of the governance of water resources. Subsequently, we will discuss some data on climate and water, conclude this article with some critical reflections on this object, and consider the case of Brazil.
Given the essentiality of freshwater for the maintenance of life, biodiversity, and ecosystem services, thinking about the governance of water resources currently requires attention to what is proposed by the sixth Sustainable Development Goal (SDG 6), which aims to ensure the availability and management of sustainable water and sanitation for all.
This objective is crucial for promoting a healthy environment and sustaining life forms, interacting directly with all other SDGs, given their impacts on health, education, gender equality, and energy. Target 6.5 proposes achieving the implementation of integrated freshwater management at all levels, including cross-border cooperation for the management of these resources.
Water resource governance is a broad concept that refers to the management and regulation of rights of access and use of this resource and its protection in the context of sustainability. In this way, governance involves a set of political, social, economic, and administrative processes constituted in a system through which the various interests related to water are articulated, and decisions regarding the rights to water and the protection of the resource are taken and implemented (Bertole at al, 2018). In general, it is projected that institutional structures for the governance of water resources must include the participation of stakeholders, equity in access and use of the resource, the protection of more vulnerable groups, the efficient use of water, sustainability, and transparency in management processes.
Designing the implementation of water governance institutions and instruments in the face of global climate change, anchored in what SDG 6 proposes, involves recognizing the vital link between water and climate. This connection can be identified in several aspects, such as changes in the hydrological cycle, variations in water availability due to changes in rainfall regimes with more severe droughts and floods, and changes in aquatic ecosystems affecting biodiversity and ecosystem services. With this in mind, water resource governance must also pay attention to the need for water infrastructure, such as sustainable irrigation systems and water treatment facilities, establishing policies and practices for disaster risk management, and promoting international cooperation for the sustainable governance of transboundary waters.
In 2008, in its first specific technical report on climate change and water, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) aimed to better inform the scientific community and policymakers about water-related problems induced by anthropogenic action. At the time, observed and projected changes in the climate related to water, the impacts resulting from variations in the supply and demand of water, and the consequences for ecosystems, biodiversity, and contemporary societies were presented, covering the specificities of different regions of the globe (Climate…, 2008). For example, the fundamental importance of water for the economy, especially for agriculture, food security, and human health, was highlighted.
Currently, by updating the data and analyzing this discussion, the IPCC addresses a series of concerns in the term water security, which concerns the availability of water in sufficient quality and quantity and access for all. This is a multi-dimensional problem, with different impacts on different regions of the globe, depending on the vulnerabilities of each one, but with the realization that climate change is an important vector that intensifies water insecurity at a global level. It is projected that, with the temperature increasing by 4º Celsius by 2050 (one of the worst scenarios outlined by the IPCC), if the Paris Agreement is not successful, up to four billion people could be in a situation of water insecurity (Caretta, 2022).
In Brazil, the National Water Resources Policy (PNRH) of 1997 contains in its original text a single mention of the climate, set out in Article 15, which deals with the “pressing need for water to meet calamity situations, including those arising from adverse climatic conditions” (Brazil, 1997, s/p). The National Water and Basic Sanitation Agency (ANA) is the entity responsible for implementing the PNRH. Although it has undergone many changes since its creation and, to some extent, acts in line with specific government programs, it is an agency that is a reference at a regional level, which can be seen in the vastness of its operations. ANA also monitors the SDG 6 goals and explains, in its documents, the integration of the 2030 Agenda with its plans (ANA, 2022).
The National Water Resources Plan (2022–2040), the most recent document that guides the implementation of the PNRH, contains dozens of mentions of the climate issue. Its focus is on adaptation measures, and there is recognition that “various climate change scenarios point to an increase in extreme hydrological events over the next few years” (ANA, 2022, p.148). In other words, almost thirty years since the creation of the PNRH, the link between water and climate change has been incorporated into the institutional structures of Brazilian water governance.
By way of conclusion, two reflections on the above are relevant. First, it is increasingly evident and essential that the connection between climate change and water security also guides the management of water resources. In addition to the scientific evidence gathered and presented by the IPCC over the years, extreme climate events and their impacts have become more observable, which leads to the second reflection, which is how indispensable decentralized institutional structures are and that allow multi-level governance. As already explained, it is necessary to think about approaches that deal with the global, regional, and local spheres, considering an assortment of relevant actors and synergies between agendas and tools that interconnect water and climate, such as the goals of SDG 6.
Brazil may not come to mind when looking at this year’s Water Day theme, “Water for Peace,” but it is certainly a central country in global water governance. The fact is that UN Water’s warning about the connection between water scarcity and conflicts is about today’s world, but also about the expansion of this problem if effective transnational approaches are not implemented.
Note
This article was produced within the scope of the research “A gestão dos recursos hídricos em Brasil, China e Índia: a atuação dos países emergentes em bacias transfronteiriças dentro do arcabouço internacional de governança hídrica e mudanças climáticas” funded by the Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado of Minas Gerais — Fapemig, through the agreement CSA APQ 03349–18, and linked to the Department of International Relations of PUC Minas. And the research: Nexus Water, Energy, Food: challenges for Amazon and La Plata basins’ riparian countries, funded by CNPq — Bolsa de Produtividade; Processo 310017/2021–1.
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About the Authors
Matilde de Souza: Doutora em Ciências Humanas pela UFMG. Professora do Departamento e do Programa de Pós-Graduação em Relações Internacionais da PUC Minas. Bolsista do Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico — Brasil (CNPq).
Victor Nascimento: Doutorando pelo Programa de Pós-Graduação em Relações Internacionais da PUC Minas.