Groundwater as a Key for Adaptation to Changing Climate and Society

155 Pages·2014·5.5 MB·English

by  Makoto Taniguchi

Global Environmental Studies
Makoto Taniguchi
Tetsuya Hiyama Editors
Groundwater as a
Key for Adaptation
to Changing
Climate and
Society
Global Environmental Studies
Editor-in-Chief:
Ken-ichi Abe
Series Editors:
Daniel Niles
Masahiro Terada
Hein Mallee
For furthervolumes:
http://www.springer.com/series/10124

Makoto Taniguchi (cid:129) Tetsuya Hiyama
Editors
Groundwater as a Key
for Adaptation to Changing
Climate and Society
Editors
MakotoTaniguchi TetsuyaHiyama
ResearchInstituteforHumanity HydrosphericAtmosphericResearchCenter
andNature(RIHN) (HyARC)
Kyoto,Japan NagoyaUniversity
Nagoya,Japan
ISSN2192-6336 ISSN2192-6344(electronic)
ISBN978-4-431-54967-3 ISBN978-4-431-54968-0(eBook)
DOI10.1007/978-4-431-54968-0
SpringerTokyoHeidelbergNewYorkDordrechtLondon
LibraryofCongressControlNumber:2014938040
©SpringerJapan2014
Thisworkissubjecttocopyright.AllrightsarereservedbythePublisher,whetherthewholeorpart
of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations,
recitation,broadcasting,reproductiononmicrofilmsorinanyotherphysicalway,andtransmissionor
informationstorageandretrieval,electronicadaptation,computersoftware,orbysimilarordissimilar
methodologynowknownorhereafterdeveloped.Exemptedfromthislegalreservationarebriefexcerpts
inconnectionwithreviewsorscholarlyanalysisormaterialsuppliedspecificallyforthepurposeofbeing
enteredandexecutedonacomputersystem,forexclusiveusebythepurchaserofthework.Duplication
ofthispublicationorpartsthereofispermittedonlyundertheprovisionsoftheCopyrightLawofthe
Publisher’s location, in its current version, and permission for use must always be obtained from
Springer.PermissionsforusemaybeobtainedthroughRightsLinkattheCopyrightClearanceCenter.
ViolationsareliabletoprosecutionundertherespectiveCopyrightLaw.
The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this
publicationdoesnotimply,evenintheabsenceofaspecificstatement,thatsuchnamesareexempt
fromtherelevantprotectivelawsandregulationsandthereforefreeforgeneraluse.
While the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of
publication,neithertheauthorsnortheeditorsnorthepublishercanacceptanylegalresponsibilityfor
anyerrorsoromissionsthatmaybemade.Thepublishermakesnowarranty,expressorimplied,with
respecttothematerialcontainedherein.
Printedonacid-freepaper
SpringerispartofSpringerScience+BusinessMedia(www.springer.com)
Foreword
The impacts of climate change will be felt mainly through impacts on the water
cycle, driven by changes in regional weather patterns, particularly rainfall and
extremeevents.Whilemuchofthescientificandpublicattentionhasbeenfocusing
on the implications of climate change on surface water resources, little regard is
being paid to the lion’s share of the unfrozen freshwater resources on our planet:
groundwater.
Almost half of the world’s population depends on groundwater as its primary
source of drinking water. Supplying about one third of the world’s irrigated land,
groundwateriscriticaltoglobalfoodsecurityandinmanyaridandsemi-aridareas
groundwateristheonlyreliablyavailablesourceoffreshwater.Manyecosystems,
hosting rich biodiversity and providing valuable services to humans, are fed by
groundwater.Inlightofglobalchangesincludingpopulationgrowth,urbanization,
land-usechanges,economicdevelopment,andclimatechange,thepressureonthis
resourceissteadilyincreasing:notonlyareagrowingnumberofpeopledependent
ongroundwaterfortheirdailyneeds,butalsocontaminationisthreateningthehigh
qualityofgroundwaterresourcesinmanyareas.
Climatechange,inconjunctionwithhumanactivity,isexpectedtohavesevere
impactsonboththequalityandquantityofgroundwaterresourcesglobally.While
recognizing the importance of groundwater in supporting human livelihoods and
ecosystems, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), in both its
thirdandfourthAssessmentReports,statesthat“therehasbeenverylittleresearch
ontheimpactofclimatechangeongroundwater....”TheIPCCTechnicalPaperon
Climate Change and Water (2008) remarks that “information about the water-
related impacts of climate change is incomplete, especially with respect to water
quality, aquatic ecosystems, and groundwater, including their socio-economic
dimensions”.
Addressingthelimitedknowledgeandresearchrelatedtotheimpactsofclimate
change and human activity on groundwater resources, UNESCO’s International
Hydrological Programme (IHP) initiated the GRAPHIC project (Groundwater
Resources Assessment under the Pressures of Humanity and Climate Change) in
2004. The project provides a platform for communication and exchange among
v
vi Foreword
groundwater and climate experts around the world. It aims at improving our
understanding of how groundwater interacts within the global water cycle, how it
supportsecosystemsandhumans,andinturn,respondstothecombinedpressures
ofhumanactivityandclimatechange.
Thephysicalimpactsofclimatechangeandhumanactivityongroundwaterwill
varygreatlydependingongeographicallocation,climatescenarios,andsubsurface
conditions. In order to better understand current processes and to allow for
the prediction of future changes, case studies should be used to investigate how
climate change impacts on groundwater resources under specific climatic and
hydrogeological conditions. In addition, we also need to be evaluating the social
and economic implications on society. Within the framework of GRAPHIC,
numerous case studies have been conducted over past years in Africa, Asia and
the Pacific, Europe, and North America, as well as in Latin America and the
Caribbean, covering a broad range of geographical and climatic settings. In order
to address the complexity of multisystem interactions, GRAPHIC incorporates a
multidisciplinary scientific approach. Recommendations based on the scientific
research and relevant for policy and decision makers are derived from each case
study.Bringingthesetotheattentionoftheglobalcommunityofwatermanagers,
scientists,andpoliticiansisoneofthemainobjectivesoftheproject.
Despite being far from complete, the knowledge of climate change impacts on
groundwaterhasincreasedsignificantly.Overthepasttwodecades,therehasbeen
asteadyriseinscientific publicationsonthesubject.Whileonly asmallgroupof
scientistsconductedresearchonclimatechangeimpactsongroundwaterresources
up until the mid-1990s, the number of scientific publications including both
“groundwater” and “climate change” as keywords rose to 50 publications per
year in 1999. Since then, groundwater and climate change-related publications
have been steadily increasing, reaching more than 250 publications by 2009,
according to a query in the SciVerse SCOPUS database (http://www.info.
sciverse.com/scopus/).
However, a better understanding of the role of groundwater in the context of
climate change does not automatically lead to higher recognition of the subject
amongthoseresponsibleformakingthedecisions.Bringingthescientificfindings
and derived recommendations to the attention of the international climate change
community and feeding them into relevant policy reports, such as the Fifth IPCC
AssessmentReportcurrentlyunderpreparation,arethereforeofcrucialimportance.
This applies in particular to the opportunities that groundwater, being the
world’s largest available store of freshwater, can offer in terms of adaptation to
the impacts of climate change and human activity. Controlled recharge and sub-
surfacestorageofwaterinaquifers,andrecoveryofthiswaterintimeswhenwater
is scarce, has proven to be a promising way to adapt to increasing variability of
precipitation patterns and a higher frequency of extreme weather events, such as
floods and droughts. Maintaining or augmenting recharge of aquifers can also
alleviatetheintrusionofseawaterintocoastalaquifersandcombatlandsubsidence
causedbyfallinghydraulicheadsduetooverexploitationofaquifers.Onasmaller
scale,waterharvestingtechniquesmightcatchwaterduringrainfalleventsinorder
Foreword vii
torechargeanaquifer,thusimpedingthequickrunoffoutofacatchmentarea.This
is particularlyimportant for peopleliving inaridandsemi-arid regions character-
izedbyerraticrainfallandprolongedperiodsofdrought,whereeverydropofwater
counts. While increasingly being applied in small and large schemes around the
world, the opportunities that groundwater offers for climate change adaptation
remain only marginally recognized and are not fully taken into consideration in
decision-makingprocesses.
Achieving (i) a better scientific understanding of the subject and (ii) increased
recognitionoftheroleofgroundwaterinthecontextofglobalchanges,andclimate
changeinparticular,arecloselylinked:
(cid:129) Sound knowledge is a sine qua non condition for communicating strong mes-
sages.Thesemessagesshouldhighlightboththeopportunitiesthatgroundwater
can offer for climate change adaptation and the challenges and risks that
groundwaterresourcesarefacinginachangingenvironment.
(cid:129) Conversely, increased public and political recognition will lead to improved
awareness, an increase of funding to advance scientific research and manage-
ment,andbroaderapplicationofschemesthatincludegroundwaterforadapta-
tiontoachangingclimateandsociety.
Thispublicationpresentsanoverviewofrecentadvancesinknowledgerelated
totheassessmentandmanagementofgroundwaterresources,givingspecialatten-
tiontotheuncertaintiesrelatedtoclimatechangeandvariability.Whileprovidinga
comprehensive descriptionof hydrogeological characteristicsof groundwater sys-
tems, the present volume also covers important aspects of legal and institutional
contexts required for groundwater resources management as well as social and
economicconsiderations.
It is hoped that the contents of this volume will contribute to an improved
understandingoftheimpactsofclimatechangeandhumanactivityongroundwater
resources and will provide useful guidance for policy makers and planners to
includegroundwaterinclimatechangeadaptationschemesandstrategies.
Paris,France HolgerTreidel
InternationalHydrologicalProgramme(IHP)
UNESCO,DivisionofWaterSciences
Reference
The IPCC Technical Paper on Climate Change and Water. https://www.ipcc.ch/pdf/technical-
papers/ccw/frontmatter.pdf(2008)

Preface
Groundwater is a major source of water across much of the world and acts as a
componentoftheglobalwatercycleontheEarth.Groundwaterhasthecapacityto
balance large variations of precipitation and associated increased demands during
watershortage,andmayprovidevaluablealternativewatersourceswhensurface-
water resources are close to the limits of sustainability. However, groundwater
resources may be threatened by the uncertainty of climate change and increased
waterdemandfromhumanactivities.
This book focuses on three major objectives: (1) to overview the current
knowledge of groundwater resources and management in a changing climate and
society, (2) to make adaptation, alternatives, and resilience the strategies for
groundwatermanagementinchangingenvironments,and(3)todiscussnewdirec-
tionsandinitiativesofhydrologicalstudy,particularlyofgroundwater.
One of the groundwater resources assessment programs related to climate
change is the GRAPHIC project (Groundwater Resources Assessment under the
Pressures of Humanity and Climate Change), which was initiated by UNESCO’s
International Hydrological Programme (IHP) in 2004. The project provides a
platformforcommunication andexchangeofknowledgeamonggroundwaterand
climateexpertsaroundtheworld.Thisbookincludessomeoftheresearchresults
fromGRAPHICprojects.
The book also contains contributions from the intensive training course on
groundwater resources, science, and management which accounted for a portion
ofJapan’scontributiontoUNESCO’sIHP.Thecoursewascomposedofaseriesof
lectures,symposiums,andpracticesessionsledbyexpertsinthefieldandlabora-
tory, and of several technical field visits. The 20th IHP training course was
organized by the Research Institute for Humanity and Nature (RIHN), Kyoto;
NagoyaUniversity;andKyotoUniversity.
We gratefully acknowledge the reviewers of book’s chapters as well as
UNESCO GRAPHIC and the 20th IHP training course program. In particular,
we would like to acknowledge the following colleagues for their generous assis-
tance: Prof. Hiroshi Uyeda, Nagoya University; Prof. Hirohiko Masunaga,
ix