"IAI SGP #004: Research Results on Vulnerability to Global Envirnmental Change in Andean Basins"

MONTAÑA, ELMA

Los Cabos, Baja California

Workshop; Workshop on Climate Risk and Water Security in the Americas; 2010

InterAmerican Institute for Global Change Research -

A collaborative research meeting on climate risk and water security in the Americas was held February 27 to March 2, 2011 under the auspices of the Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (IAI) and the University of Arizona (UA). The meeting brought together 40 researchers and water managers from Brazil, Chile, Argentina, Mexico, United States and Canada. The three primary aims of the meeting were to 1) synthesize and share results from ongoing IAI-CRN II projects that address water vulnerability under climate change (see IAI Synthesis Effort report) 2) identify common challenges and successful strategies for managing water management in arid regions of the Americas under conditions of climate change and nonstationarity and 3) capitalize on the synergies of this nascent collaborative network of IAI researchers and regional water managers to establish a center for water security, led by researchers at the UA. The central goal of such a center is to facilitate communication among the growing network of water and climate stakeholders. The underlying logic for establishing a center on water security in the Americas is the notion that the creativity for addressing new and unprecedented challenges can be found within these collaborative networks. Such creative approaches are already apparent in the individual IAI projects, including research that works closely with on-the-ground water managers at the municipal level to co-produce usable science and interdisciplinary projects that bring together climatologists and anthropologists.The four-day meeting had several successful outcomes. Presentations spanned several topical areas, including regional approaches to water management in urban and rural sectors, scenario planning for municipal water agencies, markets mechanisms for water distribution, issues of public safety and civil defense, extreme climatic events, and the water-energy nexus. Many researchers felt that this final topic area ? the water-energy nexus ? could serve as an entry-point to multiple stakeholders from various sectors together.