Costs of Adaptation Related to Industrial and Municipal Water Supply and Riverine Flood Protection

Abstract

This background paper describes the work carried out on one component of a larger World Bank study entitled The Economics of Adaptation to Climate Change (EACC), whose aim is to estimate the costs of adapting to climate change in developing countries over the period 2010–50. Within the framework of the EACC study, the World Bank has commissioned this research to examine the costs of adaptation to climate change in developing countries for (a) industrial and municipal raw water supply, and (b) riverine flood protection.

After an introduction, in Section 2 of this report, the background context of the study is developed, outlining the potential impacts of climate change on water supply and riverine flooding, which regions and population groups are likely to be most experience exists in the sectors in terms of adaptation. We also provide information on, and examples of, adaptation policies, programs, and projects that can be used to adapt to climate change in terms of water supply and flood protection.

A summary of previous research on economic aspects of climate-change-related adaptation in the water sector is provided in section 3. In section 4, we present the methods used to address aims iii and iv of the consultancy; that is, estimating the costs of adaptation to climate change in terms of industrial and municipal water supply and riverine flood protection. The results of the quantitative assessment are presented and discussed in section 5. Finally, conclusions, limitations, and recommendations of the study are presented in section 6.

Citation

World Bank, Washington DC, USA. Discussion Paper 6, 101 pp.

Costs of Adaptation Related to Industrial and Municipal Water Supply and Riverine Flood Protection

Updates to this page

Published 1 January 2010