8 Cumulative Impacts of Climate Change Variability …
173
of storms, floods and drought in all parts of the world, which together make climate
variability headline news.
Flood and drought as consequences of climate change cause tremendous losses to
infrastructure and industry, including reducing the quality of personal and communal
hygiene, with the consequence of epidemics like cholera and dysentery. In addition,
losses to agriculture caused both by floods and droughts are staggering and affect a
vast majority of the population directly dependent on water resources for their livelihood (Azman 2007). A recent example of this is the horrendous hardship inflicted
in 2017 on the people of the town of Goronyo in the Sokoto state, located in north
central Nigeria, caused by drought as a result of the shortage of rainfall in 2017 and
the related siltation of the Goronyo Dam. This devastated socioeconomic activities
and cost lives.
Cumulative climate change, water resources and socioeconomic systems are interconnected in complex ways (Alex et al. 2005), so a change in any one of these
variables causes change in one or more others. Persistent drought and flooding, offseason rains and dry spells have interrupted the growing season of areas dependent
on rain-fed agriculture. Plants that require low or high temperature at some stage of
their life cycle may adapt and survive in the short term, but could become extinct in
the long term.
As available water resources decrease and concern rise over the influence of
climate change, the reliability of estimates of current and future water resources in
reservoirs are becoming increasingly important to water managers. We, therefore,
consider the cumulative pressure from climate change that encompasses all pressures
from human activities, specifically examining impacts on the Goronyo Dam of the
Iullemmeden basin in northwest Nigeria.
1.1 Aim and Objectives
The aim of this study is to consider climate variability in the context of global change
that encompasses all pressures from human activities on water resource systems and
infrastructures. Specific objectives are to analyse and review the impacts of climate
change variability on the Goronyo Dam and to evaluate possible response options
(or adaptation options) through an integrative approach covering
i. Climate variability and change, and its impact on dams;
ii. Observed changes in the spatial distribution of water resource systems and
infrastructure in response to climate variability, especially change in temperature
and rainfall and
iii. Development of responses that address the impacts of cumulative pressures,
including climate change on dams.
173
of storms, floods and drought in all parts of the world, which together make climate
variability headline news.
Flood and drought as consequences of climate change cause tremendous losses to
infrastructure and industry, including reducing the quality of personal and communal
hygiene, with the consequence of epidemics like cholera and dysentery. In addition,
losses to agriculture caused both by floods and droughts are staggering and affect a
vast majority of the population directly dependent on water resources for their livelihood (Azman 2007). A recent example of this is the horrendous hardship inflicted
in 2017 on the people of the town of Goronyo in the Sokoto state, located in north
central Nigeria, caused by drought as a result of the shortage of rainfall in 2017 and
the related siltation of the Goronyo Dam. This devastated socioeconomic activities
and cost lives.
Cumulative climate change, water resources and socioeconomic systems are interconnected in complex ways (Alex et al. 2005), so a change in any one of these
variables causes change in one or more others. Persistent drought and flooding, offseason rains and dry spells have interrupted the growing season of areas dependent
on rain-fed agriculture. Plants that require low or high temperature at some stage of
their life cycle may adapt and survive in the short term, but could become extinct in
the long term.
As available water resources decrease and concern rise over the influence of
climate change, the reliability of estimates of current and future water resources in
reservoirs are becoming increasingly important to water managers. We, therefore,
consider the cumulative pressure from climate change that encompasses all pressures
from human activities, specifically examining impacts on the Goronyo Dam of the
Iullemmeden basin in northwest Nigeria.
1.1 Aim and Objectives
The aim of this study is to consider climate variability in the context of global change
that encompasses all pressures from human activities on water resource systems and
infrastructures. Specific objectives are to analyse and review the impacts of climate
change variability on the Goronyo Dam and to evaluate possible response options
(or adaptation options) through an integrative approach covering
i. Climate variability and change, and its impact on dams;
ii. Observed changes in the spatial distribution of water resource systems and
infrastructure in response to climate variability, especially change in temperature
and rainfall and
iii. Development of responses that address the impacts of cumulative pressures,
including climate change on dams.