Climate Change Adaptation Techonolgies For Water - A practitioner’s guide to adaptation technologies for increased water sector resilience

It is already evident that climate change is affecting hydrological fluxes at all scales. Strengthening the ability to adapt to these changes in a way that mitigates hazards and risks to humans and the environment is vital for sustainable development. We already have the capability, however, to prepare for and avoid some of these hazards, however, those looking for appropriate solutions inevitably face the difficult task of identifying and evaluating a wide range of options.

This guide aims to help address this challenge by providing the missing identification and evaluation assistance that those looking for adaptation solutions initially face. More specifically, it focuses on adaptation technologies for building resilience to climate change induced hazards in the water sector. It provides a simple and comprehensive overview of specific water technologies and techniques that address challenges resulting from climate change and help to build adaptive capacity. The cornerstone of this guide is the water climate change adaptation technology taxonomy developed for the purposes of this guide, systematizing the most pressing climate change challenges in water sector, and their corresponding water adaptation technologies. This guide takes six current climate-related water challenges as an entry point to identifying relevant adaptation responses, followed by identification of the specific water adaptation technologies relevant for each response. A total of 102 water adaptation technologies are included. Further to introduction of the adaptation technologies, several approaches to selection and prioritization of the adaptation technologies are discussed.