Report 21

Considering scale and scaling for vulnerability and adaptation studies in the water sector – Case studies in four geographies

Climate change is impacting the hydrologic cycle globally. Understanding how these changes may impact water related resources and hazards are priorities for development and sustainability initiatives. This project explores data quality and relevance for vulnerability and adaptation to climate change studies framing the discussion in the context of scaling limitations and opportunities. Four geographies are selected as case studies for their distinct geologic and hydrologic conditions: a Small Island Developing State, a delta, an estuary and a mountainous region. Common disciplinary approaches utilized for vulnerability and adaptation assessments including remote sensing, modeling, participatory social research and hybrid approaches, are compiled for each region. Within each, the quality and relevance of data resources utilized for addressing common water sector concerns from an environmental hydrology perspective is discussed.

Report 21 - Shreve C.M., M. Máñez Costa and I. Kelman (2014).Consideration of scale and scaling for vulnerability and adaptation studies in the water sector: case studies in four geographies