CAMBIAMENTI CLIMATICI E GESTIONE DELLE RISORSE IDRICHE

The course aims to provide basic knowledge related to water resource management in the context of climate change. By the end of the course, students are expected to be able to apply established methodologies for assessing water availability and evaluating the occurrence of drought phenomena. The course also aims to provide an overview of the legislative tools for water resource management and climate change. Students will learn the scientific foundations of the Earth system and the factors controlling climate, as well as the causes of climate change and the related scientific evidence. The program therefore includes an overview of the main methodologies for assessing the impacts of climate change, as well as adaptation measures in the field of water resource management.

In particular, the following SDGs from the 2030 Agenda will be addressed:

• Goal 13 – Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts: Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters in all countries (13.1); Integrate climate change measures into national policies, strategies, and planning (13.2); Improve education, awareness-raising, and human and institutional capacity on climate change mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction, and early warning (13.3).

• Goal 6 – Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all: Protect and restore water-related ecosystems, including mountains, forests, wetlands, rivers, aquifers, and lakes (6.6); Substantially increase water-use efficiency across all sectors and ensure sustainable withdrawals and supply of freshwater to address water scarcity and substantially reduce the number of people suffering from water scarcity (6.4); Support and strengthen the participation of local communities in improving water and sanitation management (6.b).

• Goal 11 – Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable: Substantially increase the number of cities and human settlements adopting and implementing integrated policies and plans towards inclusion, resource efficiency, climate change mitigation and adaptation, disaster resilience, and develop and implement holistic disaster risk management at all levels, in line with the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030 (11.b).

• Goal 15 – Protect, restore, and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems: Combat desertification, restore degraded land and soil, including land affected by desertification, drought, and floods, and strive to achieve a land degradation-neutral world (15.3).

Basic knowledge of Hydrology. Basic computer skills and familiarity with the use of MS Office (Excel and Word).

Attendance is highly recommended. Students who, upon presenting the appropriate documentation (D.R. no. 1598 of 2/5/2018), have been granted recognition as working students, student athletes, students in situations of hardship, or students with disabilities, will agree with the instructor on the modalities of attendance and the execution of the practical exercises.

INTRODUCTION

Course presentation. Evolution of water management. New paradigms: systemic approach, sustainable development, risk management, efficiency and effectiveness of water services.

Issues related to climate change. Practical examples concerning water resource management in a climate change context and an overview of the main analysis methodologies.

LEGISLATIVE FRAMEWORK ON WATER RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

Principles of water legislation. The main Italian laws: Consolidated Act of 1933, General Aqueduct Master Plan, Law 319/1976 and subsequent amendments, Law 183/1989 and subsequent amendments, Law 36/1994, Legislative Decree 152/1999. Status of implementation of legislation in Italy and Sicily. European Water Framework Directive 2000/60/EC. Legislative Decree 152/2006.

ESTIMATION OF WATER RESOURCES AND AVAILABILITY ISSUES

Classification of resources. Natural, potential, and usable resources. Non-conventional resources. Models for assessing surface water resources. Classification of water demands. Assessment of demands for domestic, irrigation, and industrial uses. Water saving. Definition of drought, water shortage, and water scarcity. Standardized drought indices (Standardized Precipitation Index, Standardized Precipitation-Evapotranspiration Index, Standardized Runoff Index, …). Water scarcity indices. National and international data sources (Reanalysis projects, European Drought Observatory, …). Practical exercise on models for estimating water availability.

SIMULATION AND OPTIMIZATION OF WATER SUPPLY SYSTEMS

Operational issues in a water system. Regulation reservoirs. Simulation of a reservoir. Simulation of reservoir systems. Evaluation of water system performance. Application examples. Role of optimization in water system planning and management. Introduction to linear programming, stochastic linear programming, and nonlinear programming algorithms.

EARTH SYSTEM AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Difference between weather and climate. Difference between climate variability and climate change. Basics of systems dynamics: definition of system, stocks and flows, positive and negative feedbacks, lags. The Earth’s climate system: components and connections. Atmosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere, geosphere, and anthroposphere. Energy flows and Earth’s energy budget. Greenhouse effect. Climate control factors.

CLIMATE CHANGE MANAGEMENT POLICIES AND GOVERNANCE

Governance at the global scale. United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and Kyoto Protocol. The Paris Agreement. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). IPCC assessment reports and historical evolution. Policies at the European, national, and regional levels. Difference between mitigation strategies and adaptation strategies. Overview of main mitigation strategies. Analysis of adaptation strategies and application examples at national and regional scales. National Adaptation Plan to climate change.

METHODS FOR ASSESSING CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACTS

Statistical methods based on historical time series analysis. Mann-Kendall non-parametric test. Sen’s slope estimator. Global climate models. Regional climate models. Future greenhouse gas emission scenarios. Coupled Model Intercomparison Projects. Representative Concentration Pathways. Shared Socioeconomic Pathways. Exercise on assessing the significance and slope of trends in hydrological series. Exercise on retrieving and visualizing climate projections.

Students will be required to pass an oral exam and submit a report on the practical exercises carried out, the quality of which will contribute to the final grade.

Below is an illustrative, non-exhaustive list of topics that may be covered in the learning assessments:

• Models for estimating monthly river runoff

• Drought phenomena

• Drought indices

• Performance indices of water supply systems

• Simulation of a water supply system

• Difference between climate change adaptation and mitigation

• Climate change adaptation plan

• Methods for estimating trends

• Climate projections