2002 Articles

Joint International Workshop on Applicable Methods for Use of Seasonal Climate Forecasts in Water Management. November 6-8, 2002

Bates, B.C.

Rapid population growth, increasing urbanization, and industrialization and pollution along with natural climate variability and human-induced climate change pose a threat to water resources. This is particularly the case in developing countries where the impacts are potentially great and yet the capacity to cope is the weakest. Hydro-meteorological disasters such as floods and droughts have major impacts in terms of human life, economic and environmental losses, and social upheaval. New understandings of the climate and its variation on seasonal and inter-annual scales, together with a growing ability to predict seasonal variations like the El Niño provides a new means to reduce vulnerability and improve coping capacity.