Do ecosystem insecurity and social vulnerability lead to failure of water security?

SCOTT, CHRISTOPHER; ZILIO, MARIANA I.; HARMON, THOMAS; ZÚÑIGA TERÁN, ADRIANA; HOYOS, NATALIA; PERILLO, GERARDO M. E.; MEZA, FRANCISCO; VARADY, ROBERT; VÉLEZ, M. ISABEL; MARTÍN, FACUNDO; ESCOBAR, JAIME; PICCOLO, M. CINTIA; RUSAK, JAMES A.

Environmental Development

Elsevier SCI LTD

Año: 2020

2211-4645

Achieving water security for humans and ecosystems is a pervasive challenge globally.Extensive areas of the Americas are at significant risk of water insecurity, resulting from globalchangeprocesses coupled with regional and local impacts. Drought, flooding, and water qualitychallenges pose significant threats, while at the same time, rapid urban expansion, competingwater demands, river modifications, and expanding global markets for water-intensiveagricultural products drive water insecurity. This paper takes a social-ecological systemsperspective, aiming to identify examples and pathways towards resilient ecosystems and socialdevelopment. It draws on lessons from two science-policy network projects, one focusing onwater scarcity in arid and semi-arid regions of Argentina, Chile, Brazil, Peru, Mexico and theUnited States; and the second addressing river and lake basins as sentinels of climate variabilityand human effects on water quantity and quality in Canada, the United States, Argentina,Colombia, Uruguay and Chile. Together, these ?complementary contrasts? provide an analyticalbasis to empirically examine stakeholder engagement, knowledge co-production and sciencepolicyinteraction supporting decision-making to achieve water security. The paper identifiesfour tenets for decision-making based on water-security-focused global-change science in theAmericas: 1) Decision makers should focus on protecting ecosystems because water security(along with food and energy security) depend on them; 2) Water-use and allocation decisionsought to be made considering future environmental and societal vulnerabilities, especiallyclimate projections; 3) Holistic approaches (at basin or other appropriate levels) are best suitedto ensure social-ecological system resilience and reduce vulnerability; and 4) It is essential tosupport local/traditional livelihoods, and underserved populations to achieve equitable watersecurity and ecosystem resilience.