The Resilience Approach to Climate Adaptation Applied for Flood Risk : UNESCO-IHE PhD Thesis

Nowadays, the uncertainties associated with the process of making decisions for water infrastructure investments can be significant and arise from, amongst other factors, a lack of knowledge about primary external drivers, like climate change. New and improved methods for the assessment climate impacts and adaptation are needed to address these uncertainties; otherwise, investment strategies can be maladaptive, resulting in either increased risks or unnecessary costs of potentially irreversible measures. In response to this need, there has been a significant expansion of the approaches and methods in use. This book provides practical experience with two different assessment methods: Real-In-Options and Adaptation Tipping Points. These were selected because they both provide insight into and promote the ability of the system to deal with future change and thus can be used within a resilience approach. The resilience approach takes a dynamic perspective on adaptive processes and the effects of these processes at/across different spatio-temporal scales. Although the methods share a similar aim, they have considerable differences in orientation and application. This book discusses the concept, procedures, case examples and benefits/limitations of each method, examining its usefulness for informing investment decisions. It gives specific recommendations on which method to use under what circumstances.