Adaptation to Climate Change: Challenges for Transboundary Water Management

A large part of the world's freshwater resources is contained in river basins and groundwater systems that are shared by two or more countries. As climate change essentially changes the hydrological situation in many basins, increasing the number of extreme situations of flooding and drought, transboundary management of these water resources in order to prevent negative effects of unilateral adaptation measures and in order to choose the most effective measures has become highly urgent. Transboundary water management is in essence more complex than national water management because the water management regimes usually differ more between countries than within countries. Transboundary water management requires coordination over different political, legal and institutional settings as well as over different information management approaches and financial arrangements. A Guidance on Water and Climate Adaptation has been developed under the UNECE Water Convention with the objective to support cooperation and decision making in transboundary basins, addressing adaptation to climate change impacts on water resources, such as flood and drought occurrences, water quality, and health related aspects, as well as practical ways to cope with the transboundary impacts. It illustrates steps and adaptation measures that are needed in order to develop a climate-proof water strategy, starting from the transboundary context. In all the work towards adaptation to climate change, the major challenge for politicians is to have a vision of how to implement the ideas, as well as the courage to withstand criticism and to share power with other actors.