There is a high demand for openly accessible hydroclimatic data for climate change adaptation. Different data sources are available, however, discrepancy between the data can confuse users and should be evaluated and explained. This study, investigates how climate impact indicators (CIIs) developed for global users in the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) are comparable to other openly available global data for water and climate. We found that, for temperature, datasets are comparable and climate impacts are thus considered robust. Important discrepancies arise in the precipitation indicators. Of the CIIs analysed in this study, the hydrological CIIs differ most so they should be used with care. These differences are probably caused by model uncertainty (hydrological model, HM; global climate model, GCM), ensemble size and model selection. A HM ensemble, as well as a GCM ensemble combined with improved model performance and selection criteria, should be used to ensure high-quality global water and climate services.
<p>Water for agriculture in peri-urban areas is vital to safeguard sustainable food production. Due to the dynamics of urbanization in deltas as well as climate change, water availability (too much, not enough, too late or early) is becoming erratic and farmers cannot rely only on their own experience anymore for agricultural decision-making. The WaterApps project develops tailor made water and weather information services with and for farmers in peri-urban areas in the urbanizing deltas of Accra, Ghana and Khulna, Bangladesh to improve water and food security and contribute towards sustainable agriculture.</p><p>The project&#8217;s design framework initially focuses on the farmers that are involved and supported during its course in the study areas and assesses their needs. Based on the baseline needs assessment study and along with the farmers in a co-producing mode Climate Information Services are being developed that provide tailor-made water and weather information and are continuously monitored and evaluated to ensure their effectiveness.</p><p>WaterApps combines the latest information technology such as Apps, social media, etc. on knowledge sharing that are enhanced with the local farmers&#8217; information needs, demands and preferences to produce tailor-made Climate Information Services.</p><p>It deals with the technical part & design aspects of the water and climate information services, such as: the skill of the provided information on different spatio-temporal scales and the role of Local Forecasting Knowledge in the study areas.</p><p>Currently, an APP is being developed which, besides displaying scientific forecast gives the possibility to farmers to provide their own indigenous forecast. Additionally, scientific and indigenous forecast are being integrated providing a hybrid forecast.</p><p>In Bangladesh, Farmers&#8217; Fields Schools (FFS) have been initiated together with meetings and trainings. The objective was to engage with farmers on a weekly basis by providing long term weather forecast and discuss the relevance in relation to upcoming agricultural activities. Social media are employed to inform agricultural extension officers and stakeholders on a daily basis.</p><p>Both cases in Bangladesh and Ghana show the importance of two-way communication and co-production with and for farmers. The co-production of water and weather information services empowers and improves livelihoods of small/medium farmers and builds capacity for enhancing sustainable food production. Finally, it lays the ground for upscaling in other urban-rural delta zones in the developing world.</p>
<p>Understanding the global interactions between water, energy and food production under climate change is crucial to identify arising synergies and conflicts between these sectors. Existing literature mainly focuses on the water-energy-food (WEF) nexus at a case study level as well as at policy and decision making level. Global quantitative assessments of the WEF nexus are still limited. Quantifying the nexus is challenging because it requires a framework which includes knowledge from three different fields. This becomes even more complex if we want to incorporate future climate projections and look at a global scale.</p><p>Two approaches can be followed to quantify the WEF nexus. One is to use an integrated assessment model, a model that includes modules for water, energy and food. Another approach is to use separate cutting edge models from each field and bring these different model outputs together. The Inter Sectoral Impact Model Intercomparison Project (ISIMIP) gives us the opportunity to apply this second approach. In ISIMIP, many model groups provide impact model data for a variety of sectors with the same climate forcing and climate scenarios on a global scale. This means we can not only use data from the water, energy and food sectors, but we can also use multiple models per sector. This approach allows us to use unique insights from the sectoral inter-comparison studies and see their implications for the WEF nexus.&#160;&#160;</p><p>This study aims to identify WEF nexus &#8216;hot spots&#8217; and how they might change in the future. Here we want to focus on locations where WEF conflicts might arise as well as spots with high development potential. We do this by, first, looking at global spatially distributed demand and supply model data per sector finding areas of surplus and deficit. Second, we combine them into several maps displaying integrated WEF nexus hot spots and their progression into the future. This study is meant to create a better global understanding of the interactions between water, energy and food sectors and how they will develop over time. The resulting maps identify regions of conflict or synergy, and can be used not only as a basis for future studies assessing resource conflicts but also as an indicator of where to harness arising opportunities.</p>
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.