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International Water Resources

Improving understanding of climate impacts on water resources

A number of projects conducted within RAL focus on assisting decision and policy-makers in better understanding the impact of climate change and extreme weather events on water resources.  Using the Water Evaluation and Planning (WEAP) model, co-developed by Dr. David Yates and scientists at the Stockholm Environment Institute, we are helping to address the growing need around the globe for new tools and methods to assess the impact of future climate-predicted precipitation on water availability and quality. By coupling physical hydrology and water planning and management information within a single framework, WEAP can be used by planners and managers to develop scenarios and strategies for more robust water management decision-making in their watershed, city or state.  In addition to the WEAP model, RAL scientists work with stakeholders to adapt regional and global climate models and datasets to their needs. Education, training, and capacity building are fundamental components of this water resource management effort.

Partners

  • Environmental Agency of Abu Dhabi
  • Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA)
  • USAID

Representative Projects

  • Public Health Benefits of Green House Gas Mitigation: Abu Dhabi: Conducted  climate modeling studies to determine how temperature, precipitation, winds, radiation and humidity are expected to change in Abu Dhabi due to increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases
  • Regional Atmospheric Modeling under Climate Change for the Arabian Gulf: Al Ain: Atmospheric modeling was performed to assess the impacts to water interactions under climate change for the Arabian Gulf in Al Ain
  • Regional Water-Energy Nexus and Climate Change in the Arabian Peninsula: Studied the regional water-energy nexus and climate change in the Arabian Peninsula to assess water needs, availability, and future source development
  • USAID: Be Secure, Philippines: Partnered with the Water Security for Resilient Economic Growth and Stability (Be Secure) Project for USAID/Philippines to support methods to improve water security for the Philippines
  • USAID: PARA-Agua, Latin America: USAID formed Partnering for Adaptation and Resilience – Agua (PARA-Agua) to collaborate with scientists, decision-makers, and communities to strengthen watershed resilience to climate-change impacts in Latin America

Contact

David Yates

Scientist III

email