1st Edition

Climate Variability and Water Dependent Sectors Impacts and Potential Adaptations

Edited By Dannele E. Peck, Jeffrey M. Peterson Copyright 2015
    140 Pages
    by Routledge

    140 Pages
    by Routledge

    Demand for water in agricultural, municipal, industrial, and environmental uses is growing. More frequent and severe extreme weather conditions now exacerbate water shortages in many locations and existing infrastructure to store and release water rarely has the capacity to both prevent floods during wet periods and meet demand during drought periods. Competition among sectors adds pressure not only on water infrastructure, but also on management policies and allocation institutions.

    This book of contributed chapters assesses the performance of existing infrastructure, institutions and policies under different climate variability scenarios. It also provides suggestions for minimizing conflict over scarce water resources. More flexible water-allocation institutions and management policies, and better tools for decision-making under uncertainty will be required to maximize society’s net benefit from less reliable water resources. The chapters show how incentives for individuals to conserve water, and policies for helping vulnerable populations prepare for and recover from extreme events, will also need to be improved.

    This book was originally published as a special issue of the Journal of Natural Resources Policy Research.

    1. Introduction Dannele E. Peck and Jeffrey M. Peterson

    2. Cost of early snowmelt in terms of reduced irrigation deliveries Aaron Benson and Ryan Williams

    3. Climate change opportunities for Idaho’s irrigation supply and deliveries Russell J. Qualls, R. Garth Taylor, Joel Hamilton, and Ayodeji B. Arogundade

    4. Climate and choice of irrigation technology: implications for climate adaptation George B. Frisvold and Shailaja Deva

    5. Potential economic impacts of water-use changes in Southwest Kansas Bill Golden and Jeff Johnson

    6. Community adaptation to climate change: exploring drought and poverty traps in Gituamba location, Kenya Amy Sherwood

    7. Medium-term electricity load forecasting and climate change in arid cities Bhagyam Chandrasekharan and Bonnie Colby

    8. The joint impact of drought conditions and media coverage on the Colorado rafting industry Karina Schoengold, Prabhakar Shrestha, and Mark Eiswerth

    Biography

    Dannele E. Peck is an associate professor in the Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics at the University of Wyoming, USA.

    Jeffrey M. Peterson is a professor in the Department of Agricultural Economics at Kansas State University, USA.