The impact of global change on water resource: the response of UNESCO's International Hydrological Programme

This report provides an overview of the likely effects of global change (population growth, climate change, urbanisation, expansion of infrastructure, migration, land conversion and pollution) on water resources and the International Hydrology Programme’s (IHP) response to these challenges. It reflects information about the water-related impacts of climate change as documented in reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the most comprehensive scientific assessment of this issue to date.

The report focuses mainly on climate change which increases the uncertainty associated with the future availability and variability of freshwater resources, and may even lead to permanent desertification of certain regions of the world. The impacts of floods and droughts in many areas will have to be managed more frequently than in the 20th century.