This book attempts to bridge the gap between the climate change research and decision-making communities by exploring the impacts of climate change on groundwater from a more applied perspective. Global climate change will impact groundwater demands, quality, and available supplies, and rising sea level may cause water tables to rise, inundating low-lying coastal areas. Groundwater will increasingly be needed to perform a stabilization role in mitigating fluctuations in the supply of surface waters, serving as a buffer against droughts. Climate change has become a frequent subject in the mass media, and the academic literature on the subject is now enormous. An impediment to climate change adaptation with respect to water is a poor link between the climate change research community and the actual decision-makers responsible for water supply planning. Key issues explored are methods for evaluating potential impacts on climate change on local groundwater systems, the adaptation of decision-making process, and how climate change adaptation can be mainstreamed into the water supply planning.

This book attempts to bridge the gap between the climate change research and decision-making communities by exploring the impacts of climate change on groundwater from a more applied perspective. Global climate change will impact groundwater demands, quality, and available supplies, and rising sea level may cause water tables to rise, inundating low-lying coastal areas. Groundwater will increasingly be needed to perform a stabilization role in mitigating fluctuations in the supply of surface waters, serving as a buffer against droughts. Climate change has become a frequent subject in the mass media, and the academic literature on the subject is now enormous. An impediment to climate change adaptation with respect to water is a poor link between the climate change research community and the actual decision-makers responsible for water supply planning. Key issues explored are methods for evaluating potential impacts on climate change on local groundwater systems, the adaptation of decision-making process, and how climate change adaptation can be mainstreamed into the water supply planning.

There is a general consensus that for the next few decades at least, the Earth will continue its warming. This will inevitably bring about serious environmental problems. For human society, the most severe will be those related to alterations of the hydrological cycle, which is already heavily influenced by human activities. Climate change will directly affect groundwater recharge, groundwater quality and the freshwater-seawater interface. The variations of groundwater storage inevitably entail a variety of geomorphological and engineering effects. In the areas where water resources are likely to diminish, groundwater will be one of the main solutions to prevent drought. In spite of its paramount importance, the issue of 'Climate Change and Groundwater' has been neglected. This volume presents some of the current understanding of the topic.

Climate change is occurring, is caused largely by human activities, and poses significant risks for-and in many cases is already affecting-a broad range of human and natural systems. The compelling case for these conclusions is provided in Advancing the Science of Climate Change, part of a congressionally requested suite of studies known as America's Climate Choices. While noting that there is always more to learn and that the scientific process is never closed, the book shows that hypotheses about climate change are supported by multiple lines of evidence and have stood firm in the face of serious debate and careful evaluation of alternative explanations. As decision makers respond to these risks, the nation's scientific enterprise can contribute through research that improves understanding of the causes and consequences of climate change and also is useful to decision makers at the local, regional, national, and international levels. The book identifies decisions being made in 12 sectors, ranging from agriculture to transportation, to identify decisions being made in response to climate change. Advancing the Science of Climate Change calls for a single federal entity or program to coordinate a national, multidisciplinary research effort aimed at improving both understanding and responses to climate change. Seven cross-cutting research themes are identified to support this scientific enterprise. In addition, leaders of federal climate research should redouble efforts to deploy a comprehensive climate observing system, improve climate models and other analytical tools, invest in human capital, and improve linkages between research and decisions by forming partnerships with action-oriented programs.

The realm of sustainable development focuses on the ability to meet the demands of the present, while not compromising the demands of the future. The knowledge of balancing sustainable development goals with high performance is essential. Even more essential is sharing the practices and accomplishments within sustainable development so that it may be spread throughout many organizations and societal functions. The Handbook of Research on Novel Practices and Current Successes in Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals provides valuable insights, challenges, and practices to highlight the key determinants in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. This book presents a complex and thorough theoretical infrastructure concerning the Sustainable Development Goals, challenges and practices, as well as an important set of empirical results that will make a tremendous contribution to the analysis of the key determinants specific to the Sustainable Development Goals. Covering topics such as alternative consumption models, non-profit organizations, and sustainable communities, this is an essential text for academicians, scientists, researchers, students, PhD scholars, post-doctoral students, specialists, practitioners, governmental institutions, and policymakers worldwide.

This publication sets out the challenge for freshwater in a changing climate and provides policy guidance on how to navigate this new "waterscape". It examines the range and complexity of possible changes in the water cycle and the challenges of making practical, on-site adaptation decisions for water. It offers policymakers a risk-based framework and guidance to "know", "cap" and "manage" water risks in order to provide flexibility and improve decisions despite the lack of reliable predictions. It draws insights from a stock take of current policy efforts to adapt water systems across all 34 member countries and the European Union, including water-related aspects of National Adaptation Plans and Strategies, specific policy measures, and financing programmes. Finally, the report examines the use of economic instruments to promote adaptation (e.g. insurance schemes, water markets and banks, water pricing), incentives for ‘green’ infrastructure and ecosystem-based approaches, and financing issues.

This publication sets out the challenge for freshwater in a changing climate and provides policy guidance on how to navigate this new "waterscape".