Reese, Moritz --- "Climate change adaptation in water management – regulatory challenges and approaches" [2017] ELECD 1482; in Hollo, J. Erkki (ed), "Water Resource Management and the Law" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2017) 297

Book Title: Water Resource Management and the Law

Editor(s): Hollo, J. Erkki

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN (hard cover): 9781785369827

Section: Chapter 12

Section Title: Climate change adaptation in water management – regulatory challenges and approaches

Author(s): Reese, Moritz

Number of pages: 30

Abstract/Description:

Climate change is well underway and is set to have increasing impacts on water quality and quantity. Changing precipitation patterns, higher temperatures and more extreme weather events are expected to change the game for the public management of surface and ground waters in many regions around the globe. This chapter looks at the implications of this challenge for water legislation and at how regulatory frameworks can facilitate and enforce greater adaptability of public water management. It identifies key regulatory requirements of adaptive water management and analyzes whether these requirements are accounted for in existing international freshwater law and in the example of the EU Water Framework Directive as an advanced regulatory regime of integrated river basin management. The EU Water Framework Directive – with its quality-oriented, integrated and cyclical approach – is basically providing a suitable framework for adaptive water management. However, there is also room for further advancements in that regard. Keywords: Chapter 12 (Reese): Climate change adaptation, water scarcity and drought, water governance, adaptive water management, public good, German water law