Water scarcity affects 1-2 billion people globally, most of whom live in drylands. Under projected climate change, millions more people will be living under conditions of severe water stress in the coming decades. This review examines observed and projected climate change impacts on water security across the world’s drylands to the year 2100. We find that efficient water management, technology and infrastructure, and better demand and supply management, can offer more equitable access to water resources. People are already adapting but need to be supported with coherent system-oriented policies and institutions that situate water security at their core, in line with the components of Integrated Water Resources Management. Dryland water governance urgently needs to better account for synergies and trade-offs between water security and other dimensions of sustainable development, to support an equitable approach in which no one gets left behind.

Item Type:	Refereed Article
Keywords:	adaptation, aridity, integrated water resources management, greening, browning, projections, climate change, water security, drylands, global trends
Research Division:	Environmental Sciences
Research Group:	Climate change impacts and adaptation
Research Field:	Ecological impacts of climate change and ecological adaptation
Objective Division:	Environmental Policy, Climate Change and Natural Hazards
Objective Group:	Understanding climate change
Objective Field:	Global effects of climate change (excl. Australia, New Zealand, Antarctica and the South Pacific) (excl. social impacts)
UTAS Author:	Harris, RMB (Dr Rebecca Harris)
ID Code:	144697
Year Published:	In Press
Deposited By:	Geography and Spatial Science
Deposited On:	2021-06-06
Last Modified:	2022-01-17
Downloads:	2 View Download Statistics