Climate-resilient water management: an operational framework from South Asia

Countries in South Asia already face considerable water management challenges: water resources are overexploited and depleting fast, and institutions are struggling to manage and allocate water effectively. Climate change will exacerbate existing problems through irregular rainfall patterns and increased incidence of floods and droughts. The Action on Climate Today (ACT) programme has been actively working in five South Asian countries to help governments plan for, and manage, the impacts of climate change in the water sector. ACT has championed a Climate-Resilient Water Management (CRWM) approach as a way of increasing the resilience of water systems on which billions of people rely. This learning paper outlines the core elements of the CRWM framework and provides examples from ACT’s work employing the framework across the region. The methodology has been deployed in South Asia, but will be of relevance to practitioners and policy makers working in water resource management around the world.