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Water Management in a Variable and Changing Climate

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Abstract

The world is changing, the climate is changing, and the future is uncertain. Yet we know that through our actions we can influence what our future will be. So, the question is not whether climate variability is increasing and climate change is occurring, but how can we now understand the changes and manage water for an uncertain future. Analyses of the climatic changes already observed, and the associated improvements in the methodologies we use to understand climate change and variability, have allowed us to develop improved scenarios of what the future may bring. They have also helped us to reduce the uncertainties in what we know. Because of the new technologies and our increased understanding of how to manage the risks, the remaining uncertainties can be viewed as opportunities for designing, managing, and operating our water resource infrastructure in more effective and robust ways across a wider range of possible uses and futures.

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    © 2014 Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation

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    Gulbenkian Think Tank on Water and the Future of Humanity. (2014). Water Management in a Variable and Changing Climate. In: Water and the Future of Humanity. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-01457-9_3

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