The project is jointly conducted by the US Army Corps of Engineers, Rijkswaterstaat, Deltares, and University of Massachusetts Northeast Climate Science Center.
Abstract:
There is broad scientific consensus that the Earth is warming at a faster rate than in the near past, and that this acceleration is influenced by human activity. The rate and magnitude of climate change is deeply uncertain but it is clear that climate change will have significant effects on the distribution and availability of water resources. Some areas will be drier. Some will become more humid. Moreover, the frequency and intensity of water extremes such as floods and droughts will increase. Scientists around the world have produced an incredible amount of tools and analyzed data sets to help evaluate future climate impacts. These climate change tools and data are readily available to policy makers, engineers and practitioners but there is a fundamental inability to use them to make decisions for water resources planning and design. This presentation will highlight these challenges and present a paradigm shift, known as Climate Risk Informed Decision Analysis, that is underway through a collaborative effort between the US Army Corps of Engineers, the World Bank, the Rijkswaterstaat and Deltares, and the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI), which comprise a network known as the Alliance for Global Water Adaptation (AGWA). The approach is an adaptation of traditional engineering planning and design principles with practical application of climate forecast models to support decision making under deep uncertainty.
About the speaker:
John Kucharski is a senior economist at the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Institute for Water Resources Hydrologic Engineering Center located in Davis, CA. In this role he is the Corps subject matter expert in the field of risk assessment. Internationally John works with foreign water resource and development agencies to build their capacity to solve complex or controversial water resource problems through systems modeling, structure stakeholder engagement and the use of traditional planning approaches – known collectively as shared vision planning. He also works with international institutions and foreign governments on the development of risk-scaled climate adaptation strategies – sometimes referred to as bottom-up climate change approaches.
John is from Granger a small farming community outside of Austin, TX. He earned his Master’s Degree in Economics from the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) in 2009. There he received the school’s highest possible distinction, a Dean’s Fellowship and the Joseph Grunewald award, which is given each year to the graduate student whose research has the greatest impact on Inter-American understanding. He is married and father to two young boys William (age 6) and Oliver (age 4).
