Climate Adaptation

Values in Climate Adaptation. Cultural values underpin the choice of water management strategies in adapting to climate change. Faced with the prospect of greater variability in precipitation, and more severe droughts and more intense floods, what is our response? More specifically, on what values and principles do we base our judgement about what constitutes an appropriate response? The instinctive reaction to a greater threat is to apply the solutions of the past (command-and-control water management) to the new problems. If the past solutions were themselves sub-optimal (or outright mistakes), then applying the same strategy to the future might not be such a good idea.

There is little scientific question that water systems will come under increased stress due to changing climatic conditions. The details of the stress vary considerably according to location, but there is a general consensus that our existing water management infrastructure and operating rules will need to be adjusted. But what about our existing values about water? Perhaps they also need to be adjusted to cope with the future challenges. This is where the need to consider climate adaption offers an opportunity to re-evaluate our overall approach to water management.

By integrating the assessment of the underlying values about water and rivers, with an appraisal of the physical options for managing water, we might come up with new kinds of solutions. This is where experience from indigenous traditions can be integrated with water planning and strategizing. We need to consider the very different assumptions that Indigenous Peoples can offer in re-examining our water policies in the light of past environmental costs and future environmental changes.

Upcoming Events

CLIMATE 2010: A virtal conference on Climate Change and the Sustainable Management of Water Resources 1-7 November 2010
Link: www.klima2010.net/

Resources

Program on Climate Ethics and Climate Equity at the University of Oregon's Wayne Morse Center for Law and Politics

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