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FS 3.193

Water Management in Mountain Socio-Ecological-Technological Systems

Session status: Accepted
Content last updated: 2025-08-15 10:25:26
Online available since: 2025-01-13 22:18:49

Details

  • Full Title

    FS 3.193: Water Management in Mountain Socio-Ecological-Technological Systems under Climate Change
  • Scheduled

    Talks:
    2025-09-17, 13:30 - 15:00 (LT), SOWI – SR 2
    Talks:
    2025-09-17, 13:30 - 15:00 (LT), SOWI – SR 2
  • Co-Convener(s)

    Bertoldi, Giacomo; Kumar, Navneet; Schneiderbauer, Stefan; and Terzi, Stefano
  • Assigned to Synthesis Workshop

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  • Thematic Focus

    #IMC25, Cryo- & Hydrosphere, Hazards, Socio-Ecology, Sustainable Development, Water Resources
  • Keywords

    Hydrological modelling, Climate change impacts, Water Energy Food, Participatory scenario planning, Adaptive water management

Description

Mountain “water towers“ are essential for sustaining ecosystems and communities, supporting biodiversity, agriculture, energy, and cultural practices. Climate change disrupts these systems by altering precipitation patterns and increasing snow and glacial melt, leading to conflicts over water use and heightened risks of droughts and floods. Mountains represent vital socio-ecological systems where interactions between people and nature thrive. Sustainable integration of technological systems like dams and recreational facilities can help address societal challenges and promote climate change adaptation. This session explores the socio-ecological-technological systems (SETS) of mountain regions, emphasizing water’s central role in resilience and adaptability. Bridging social, ecological, and technological dimensions, the SETS framework provides a comprehensive approach to understanding how stakeholders – from local communities to policymakers-perceive and manage water resources, highlighting the need for adaptable models and participatory planning. Key topics include:

  • Conceptual socio-hydrological models to reveal feedback loops between human activities, ecological processes, and water resources.
  • Climate change impacts on hydrological processes and the need for advanced data and modelling to forecast future conditions.
  • Integrating hydrological insights into participatory planning that incorporates local knowledge, technology, and ecological values.
  • Global and transboundary water management in mountain regions.
  • Cryospheric changes and their impact on downstream communities.
  • Upstream-downstream interactions and water use conflicts.

Registered Abstracts

ID: 3.9179
Talk/Oral
|Adem Esmail, Blal

Adem Esmail, Blal
Assessing Water Scarcity Risks in Socio-Ecological-Technological Systems: A Case Study of the Greater Asmara Area Water Supply System
Adem Esmail, B.
Bertoldi, G.; Galletti, A.; Formetta, G.; Kumar, N.; Romagnoli, F.; Teklemariam, M.; and Schneiderbauer, S.
Abstract/Description

Water scarcity is an increasingly pressing global issue, particularly affecting mountain regions vulnerable to climate change. Understanding water scarcity risks within socio-ecological-technological systems (SETS) is crucial for identifying the multifaceted impacts across watersheds, infrastructure, and water management systems. This study delves into the water scarcity risks in the Greater Asmara Area in Eritrea, a metropolitan region with a unique topographical setting where water must be pumped to a plateau, further compounded by rapid urbanization and severe watershed degradation. To comprehensively address this issue, our research adopts an integrated approach. We combine Impact Chain – a conceptual tool for mapping risk components and their interactions—with hydrological modelling using the GEOframe system to quantify trends in water availability. Additionally, stakeholder s engagement is a key component of our methodology, employed to systematically map societal challenges, validate the findings, and identify context-specific and actionable climate adaptation strategies. The analysis focuses on the exposure of households, industries, and institutions served by both centralized “Town systems” and decentralized “On-site systems” for water supply, highlighting the disparities between formal and informal water access. The study identifies critical vulnerabilities within the Greater Asmara Area water supply system, including land degradation, infrastructure inefficiencies, inequitable access to water, and increased exposure due to rapid urbanization. It highlights interaction between the risk components and their impact on water resources. Furthermore, the study lays the groundwork for co-creating scenario storylines that inform long-term urban water strategies in the Greater Asmara Area. The findings emphasize the need for nature-based solutions and ecosystem-based adaptation measures to mitigate water scarcity and enhance climate resilience. By integrating quantitative hydrological modelling with qualitative stakeholder insights, this research underscores the values of SETS-based frameworks for addressing complex water security challenges and offers actionable insights for improving water security and fostering sustainable climate adaptation in vulnerable urban regions.

ID: 3.9310
Talk/Oral
|Solaymani, Hamidreza

Solaymani, Hamidreza
The footprint of Climate and land-use changes on Iranian mountainous area
Solaymani, H.
Abstract/Description

Climate and land-use changes have significant impacts on Iranian forests in mountainous areas, affecting soil quality, vegetation growth, and biodiversity. This research study suggests that the changes lead to soil organic carbon reduction, increased risk of habitat loss, and extinction risk for various species, particularly in regions such as Zagrosa and Alborz mountainous areas. The results reveal a wide-spread agricultural expansion (27,000 km2) and a significant cultivation intensification (48,000 km2). At the same time, we observe a substantial decline in total water storage that is not represented by a decrease of meteorological water input, confirming an unsustainable use of groundwater mainly for agricultural irrigation. As consequence of water scarcity, we identify agricultural areas with a loss or reduction of vegetation growth (10,000 km2), especially in irrigated agricultural areas under (hyper-)arid conditions. In Iran’s natural biomes, the results show declining trends in vegetation growth and land cover degradation from sparse vegetation to barren land in 40,000 km2, mainly along the western plains and foothills of the Zagros Mountains, and at the same time wide-spread greening trends, particularly in regions of higher altitudes. Overall, the findings provide detailed insights in vegetation-related causes and consequences of Iran’s anthropogenic drought and can support sustainable management plans for Iran or other semi-arid regions worldwide, often facing similar conditions.

ID: 3.10013
Talk/Oral
|Avanzi, Francesco

Avanzi, Francesco
Monitoring, participating, and communicating mountain hazards: lessons from recent snow droughts in the Italian Alps
Avanzi, F.
Mantini, M.; Marighella, A.; Porcu, S.; Dalmas, I.; Salvioli Mariani, L.; Caporlingua, M.; Finizio, M.; Galimberti, L.; Cotugno, F.; Farina, S.; Bassetto, G.; Grazzini, F.; Lozito, N.; Massa, M.; Sand, H.; Rossi, L.; Breeze, N.; Cremonese, E.; Gabellani, S.; Galvagno, M.; Favre, S.; Pogliotti, P.; Morra di Cella, U.; Rossi, L.; and Ferraris, L.
Abstract/Description

Recent winters saw extreme drought across the Italian Alps, with Snow Water Equivalent at peak accumulation dropping by 60% compared to recent years. This snow deficit, combined with low precipitation and high temperatures, led to historic water supply lows in the Po River Basin during summer 2022. In response, CIMA Research Foundation launched a communication campaign to raise awareness of the ongoing snow drought and its implications for water security and water management. Starting with social media posts on platforms like Twitter/X and LinkedIn, the initiative gained traction and evolved into widespread media coverage, including newspapers, TV, blogs, podcasts, and official reports. As of today, this effort has translated into a periodical bulletin on CIMA’s website, posts on Twitter/X, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, a dedicated newsletter and web page. Central to this effort is the S3M Italy & IT-SNOW monitoring system, which provides approximately 500-meter resolution daily maps of SWE, snow depth, bulk snow density, and liquid water content. S3M Italy & IT-SNOW integrate data from thousands of automatic weather stations, snow-covered area maps from Sentinel-2 and MODIS satellites, and in situ snow depth measurements from over 350 sensors, offering a comprehensive and detailed assessment of snow conditions across Italy. This case study examines the attention gained by the campaign, highlighting lessons learned at the science-media-policy interface. Effective communication relied on key messages, consistent updates, visual identity, and simplicity. A two-step model proved essential, where scientists created content that mediators—such as journalists or organizations—shared with the public. Building trust between scientists and mediators was key to amplifying the message among stakeholders. The campaign continues into 2024/2025, addressing the growing impacts of warming and aridity on snow conditions. It underscores the importance of credible information and aims to enhance public awareness of the challenges posed by climate change.

ID: 3.11718
Talk/Oral
|Ochoa-Sánchez, Ana

Ochoa-Sánchez, Ana
SWACH: Sustainable Water Management under Climate Change Scenarios in Southern Ecuador
Ochoa-Sánchez, A.
Crespo, P.; Willems, P.; Célleri, R.; Guzmán, P.; Alvarado-Carrión, M.; Ochoa, J.; García, J.; Timbe, E.; Núñez, S.; Rodas, V.; Guerrero, R.; and Peña, S.
Abstract/Description

Anthropogenic climate change has placed enormous pressure on water security in mountain cities. Cuenca, is a middle-size city that has lived with sufficient quality and quantity of water in the past; however, recent drought events have increased in magnitude and frequency. Climate change, population demand and the lack of water management adaptation strategies are to blame. Therefore, we started a project two years ago called SWACH. SWACH aims at finding adaptation strategies to face climate change impacts in water availability. One aspect of the project focuses on providing climate change projections of precipitation and temperature, hydrological projections and population increase towards 2100 to understand how climate change will influence water availability in the most important catchment that provides half of the drinking water for the city. Then a second aspect of the project is to find adaptation strategies focusing on the offer and demand for drinking water. A pilot project works with three neighbourhoods in the city to understand their water use habits and reduce water consumption. On the other hand, we work with the water company of the city to find strategies that optimize the water system. Water availability issues are social, political and technical, therefore, SWACH aims for a transdisciplinary approach that enables cooperation among the academy, decision-makers, policy-makers and citizens to work together to face climate change.

ID: 3.13542
Talk/Oral
|Ritzema, Randall

Ritzema, Randall
Monsoonal precipitation on steep vegetated slopes: an opportunity for simplified hydrologic modeling in some upland catchments
Ritzema, R.
Abstract/Description

Formulation of water management strategies in upper catchments in monsoonal climates, particularly when considering the effects of land use change on water flows and catchment yield, requires spatial and temporal evaluation of water balance components. Beyond simple water balance estimations, integrated hydrologic modeling is highly useful but is typically inhibited by lack of data, particularly when estimating sub-surface water flows in sloping lands. However, in some situations, environmental characteristics allow for parsimonious water flow process representations with less stringent input data requirements. This study highlights an example of how key environmental characteristics in a study site in the uplands of Lao PDR, namely monsoonal precipitation on steep vegetated terrain, together define hydrologic regimes that allow for simplified modeling representations of sub-surface water flows, in both the unsaturated and saturated zones, that require minimal input parameters and calibration effort. Because sub-surface flows define dry season surface flows, proper estimation improves year-round water availability estimates. These simplified modeling representations may enable hydrologic modeling efforts more widely across montane Southeast Asia and in other mountainous regions with similar environmental characteristics.