Harry Diaz

Water Governance in Chile and Canada: a Comparison of Adaptive Characteristics

We compare the structures and adaptive capacities of water governance regimes that respond to water scarcity or drought in the South Saskatchewan River Basin (SSRB) of western Canada and the Elqui River Basin (EB) in Chile. Both regions anticipate climate change that will result in more extreme weather events including increasing droughts. The SSRB and the EB represent two large, regional, dryland water basins with significant irrigated agricultural production but with significantly different governance structures. The Canadian governance situation is characterized as decentralized multilevel governance with assigned water licenses; the Chilean is characterized as centralized governance with privatized water rights. Both countries have action at all levels in relation to water scarcity or drought. This structural comparison is based on studies carried out in each region assessing the adaptive capacity of each region to climate variability in the respective communities and applicable governance institutions through semistructured qualitative interviews. Based on this comparison, conclusions are drawn on the adaptive capacity of the respective water governance regimes based on four dimensions of adaptive governance that include: responsiveness, learning, capacity, including information, leadership, and equity. The result of the assessment allows discussion of the significant differences in terms of ability of distinct governance structures to foster adaptive capacity in the rural sector, highlights the need for a better understanding of the relationship of adaptive governance and good governance, and the need for more conceptual work on the interconnections of the dimensions of adaptive governance.

Adaptation in viticulture: a case study of producers in the Maule Region of Chile.

Climate change may pose challenges as well as opportunities for viticulture, and much research has been devoted to assessing the impacts of climate change on quality wine grape production, focusing primarily on the capability of current wine-producing areas to ripen wine grapes under future increases in temperatures. This paper considers the human dimensions of the climate change and viticulture issue and assesses the vulnerability of grape and wine producers to climate change in the context of other stresses via a case study in the Maule Region of Chile. Through interviews, producers revealed that their key sensitivity is income, which is influenced by a variety of factors, including climate and weather, market and currency fluctuations, institutional arrangements and labour availability. Producers make adjustments in order to maintain profitability, with market forces being one of the most important drivers of their decision-making. Climate change does not appear to be a priority in the region, although some adaptation strategies may be beneficial given the projected changes in climate. The ability of producers to adapt to a changing climate is constrained by social, economic and political circumstances, including economic capital, education, institutional arrangements and organizational abilities. These circumstances need to be addressed in order for producers to effectively adapt in the future.

Climate change and water governance in Saskatchewan, Canada

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to assess the successes and challenges of adaptation to climate change focusing on water governance institutions in Saskatchewan, a province located in the western Canadian prairies.Design/methodology/approach – A framework of vulnerability and adaptive capacity to the effects of climate change is employed. Data are obtained through qualitative research conducted through interviews and focus groups with stakeholders and people playing a role in water governance in Saskatchewan.Findings – There have been many positive institutional developments which have improved Saskatchewans adaptive capacity. The most promising is the creation of local watershed advisory committees that are poised to implement on‐the‐ground water management decisions. What is lacking, however, is a long‐term comprehensive climate change and adaptation plan, with built‐in flexibility to address present and future climate variability. Without a long‐term baseline plan and vision, Saskatchewan rural...

Changing Roles in Canadian Water Management: A Case Study of Agriculture and Water in Canada's South Saskatchewan River Basin

This paper explores changing roles in Canadian water management, by focusing on a case study of agriculture and water in Western Canada. Challenges in water management include unequal adaptive capacity, gaps in water and climate data, locally relevant options, short- and long-term planning, among others. This empirical study offers insight for improved water management decision-making for all regions. There is a need for improving and integrating water management with climate scenarios, collecting more and better water/climate data, improving water governance and long-term planning, and developing strong communication channels between governance organizations and local communities. Positive trends towards effective and adaptive water management include the incorporation of watershed groups, basin planning, and the use of multidisciplinary approaches to guide decision-making.

Development, local livelihoods, and vulnerabilities to global environmental change in the South American Dry Andes

Climate change will increasingly impact large areas of South America, affecting important natural resources and people’s livelihoods. These impacts will make rural people disproportionately more vulnerable, given their dependency on ecosystem services and their exposure to other stressors, such as new rules imposed by agribusiness and trends toward the commodification of natural resources. This paper focuses on the vulnerability of rural communities in Andean drylands of Argentina, Bolivia, and Chile, showing how different economic and political pathways lead to different levels of vulnerability. The paper begins with a brief discussion of the methodological and theoretical concept of vulnerability, which framed the research. Starting from the premise that global environmental change impacts are strongly linked to styles of development, the discussion explores the diverse institutional capital and governance schemes as well as different development styles in the case studies and their role in increasing or reducing local vulnerability to climate and water scarcity. Using a comparative perspective, the exposures and adaptive capacities of rural actors in three river basins are discussed, emphasizing situations that speak for the ways in which development styles counteract or magnify conditions of vulnerability. The analysis considers irrigated and non-irrigated agriculture, water property interests, different productive structures (viticulture, horticulture, etc.), producer typologies (large/small, export, etc.), and geographical location. Finally, the paper offers some insights about development style and adaptive capacities of rural people to overcome those vulnerabilities.

Making Science Count: Climate Change and the Science/Practice Interface

There is mounting evidence that global warming is producing variations in local weather patterns and water supplies, disturbing ecosystems and soil landscapes and impacting economic production and social conditions. Important changes in rainfall patterns, increases in temperatures and more intense and severe climate events have already been observed, with negative impacts for people’s livelihoods. The multiple impacts of climate change could be a considerable source of risk, affecting patterns of development and local livelihoods, but they could also provide new opportunities (i.e., expansion of cultivated areas). In this perspective, climate change has been defined as a “wicked” problem for which there is no easy solutions and no simple approaches. It requires not only a multiplicity of perspectives to understand the phenomenon in all its complexity but also an increasing proximity between university researchers, policy-makers, industry, and citizen sector organizations to manage the risks and opportunities. A significant challenge, nevertheless, has been the limited integration between researchers and those government agencies that play a central role in the everyday management of development and natural resources. There are significant institutional and cultural barriers between researchers and policy-makers that hinder the transformation of scientific knowledge into plans and actions able to strengthen adaptive capacity. The chapter discusses climate governance and the science/practice interface in terms of the process of climate knowledge mobilization. Based on the dissemination experience of two multi-disciplinary policy-oriented projects, the presentation applies the lessons learned and compares these lessons to a variety of insights found in the related literature.

Vulnerability of Andean Communities to Climate Variability and Climate Change

There is mounting evidence that climate change will increasingly impact large areas of Latin America, affecting people’s livelihoods and important natural resources such as water. These impacts will make rural people disproportionately more vulnerable, given their dependency on natural resources and their exposure to other stressors, such as globalization and restricted fiscal policies. Climate change, however, could also bring new opportunities, such as the expansion of cultivated areas. The paper presents the results of a 3-year study focused on rural vulnerabilities to climate variability in three Andean watershed basins: the Mendoza Basin in Argentina, the Choquecota Basin in Bolivia and the Elqui Basin in Chile. Following the vulnerability approach, the presentation discusses and compares (a) the present exposures, sensitivities and adaptive capacities of different rural producers in the three basins to present and past climate variations and their impacts on local water resources; and (b) the instituional challenges faced by these rural producers in the context of the present climate variability and expected future changes in climate conditions.

The Need for Adaptive Water Governance: Lessons from Canada and Chile

This chapter assesses institutional learning and water governance in both Chile and Canada. This chapter is based on the findings of vulnerability assessments and interviews with key stakeholders and people employed in water governance in Chile and Canada. In order to support adaptive water governance, learning must be nurtured. This requires better vertical and horizontal institutional coordination and integration to facilitate dissemination of findings and data as well as improved clarity of roles in water governance. Government has an important role to play; this cannot be left to private actors. This chapter presents findings from an institutional adaptation to climate change project conducted in both Chile and Canada. This study is important as Chile and Canada have very different water governance regimes; the former is privatized and the latter publicly owned and privately licensed.

A Conceptual Framework for Understanding Vulnerabilities to Extreme Climate Events

Many regions of the world are experiencing impacts of climate change of increasing variability, including drought and flood events. Proactive adaptation to climate change builds resiliency and reduces vulnerability to extreme events, lessening their impact and also their classification as “disasters.” Adaptive strategies need to address the changing climate, other exposures (i.e. globalization and neo-liberalism), and sensitivities (i.e. unequal access to economic capital or lack of human capital).

Global Environmental Change, Culture and Development

Fil: Montana, Elma Carmen. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Tecnicas. Centro Cientifico Tecnologico Conicet - Mendoza. Instituto de Ciencias Humanas, Sociales y Ambientales; Argentina