Opportunities and Challenges for the Incorporation of Climate Change Information for Sustainable Water Resource Management in Bolivia, South America

Abstract

Negative impacts of climate variability and change are projected to cause havoc in water availability and quality around the world. Bolivia, South America, is vulnerable because it is home to one of the poorest populations in South America, and fresh water supplies are seriously endangered by changes in climatic variability and rapid glacier melt caused by climate change. At this point, Bolivia, similar to many less developed countries, is not prepared to cope with future climate change and lacks the capacity to respond to its impacts on water resources. Adaptive governance, in which individuals ‘adapt’ their decisions based on climate perturbations, is rapidly gaining importance and could critically shape Bolivia’s ability to better respond to the effects of climate impact on its water resources. In principle, knowledge of future climate can contribute to more effective water adaptive management by informing stakeholders about expected stresses resulting from impacts of climate change. Policy makers and users could then plan to reduce water systems’ sensitivity to these climate impacts and thereby increase the resilience of the SES. The study focuses on understanding the role of knowledge in adaptive water management in Bolivia in the context of climate variability and change. It was conducted in the Desaguadero watershed which is a part of the Lake Titicaca, Desaguadero river, Lake Poopo, and salt lake Salar de Coipasa (TDPS). The watershed of TDPS stretches over two countries - Bolivia and Peru in the South American Andes, covering an area of 143, 900 km2 between the altitudes of 3,600 and 4,500 meters above sea level. The study design had two phases. In phase one, we interviewed policy and decision makers in the water sector in Bolivia to understand water management institutions and organizations and the potential role of climate knowledge (especially downscaled climate model data) in informing response to climate variability and change. For this purpose, we carried out 36 interviews with decision makers and stakeholders who represented all scales of governance and stakeholders in the water sector. In year two, we selected a subset of respondents from 2009 and provided this group with downscaled climate data. We then recorded their reactions and feedback, including their willingness to use this kind of knowledge in their decision-making. The data set consisted of climate data downscaled using RegCM ensemble data for two time periods a) 2048 – 2059 (short term) and b) 2089 – 2098 (long term). Analysis indicates that management of water resources in Bolivia represents unique hierarchical and scalar properties. Four broad scales of management were identified namely a) bi-national (Bolivia and Peru), b) national (Bolivia), c) regional (nine departments/states in Bolivia), and d) local (community management). Information seeking was found to be a factor of respondent’s level of decision-making. Climate information seeking depends on current information availability, its reliability, missing information, and accessible sources. Climate change information availability and reliability decreases with scale of governance from national to local. Paradoxically, the use of climate change information increases from national to local levels of governance. Opportunities for incorporation of downscaled climate information exist at higher scales of water management, since the decision-makers value reliable and low uncertainty data, while constraints exist in the form of socio-political barriers, organizational redundancies, lack of capacity, and sectoral differences. The study also suggests that downscaled climate information is a valuable tool that helps decision makers and communities increase their adaptive capacity by strengthening their ability to prepare and respond to extreme-weather.