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Climate Change Adaptation for Water Resources (CCAW) is a research center headquartered in Seoul that comprises several affiliated universities and institutes in South Korea. CCAW is funded by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) with the aim of developing national water resource management technology for climate change adaptation and building a foundation for contributions to the global water industry.

According to the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), climate change has accelerated globally and regionally, affecting both scientific and socioeconomic sectors such as water resources, agriculture, forest ecology, fisheries and health care. Among these sectors, the most vulnerable sector to climate change is water resources, including the influences of floods, droughts and changing precipitation patterns

Thus, collaborative efforts are required to understand the adverse effects of climate change and to formulate effective adaptation measures that minimize the potential damages. Recently, an international credit rating agency reported that climate change is no longer a subject of scientific debate but a real problem that must be addressed in the context of national economic and fiscal performance.

A number of studies related to climate change and water resources have been conducted in Korea. However, most of these studies have focused on climate change impact assessments of water resources and not on developing actual adaptation strategies for the country. Therefore, our goal is to develop a water resources management technology for climate change adaptation and to build a foundation to contribute to the global water industry. The prior directions are as follows.

Technology standardization for climate change assessment
Numerous methods exist for evaluating the impact of climate change on water resources depending on different objectives, but they are difficult to apply in the field due to the lack of a standardized methodology. Therefore, CCAW will establish standardized guidelines for climate change impact assessments and organize capacity-building programs through organizational workshops, forums, seminars, etc.
Building a foundation of water resource adaptation strategies considering climate change uncertainty
Uncertainty in climate change scenarios and climate change impact assessments involving water resources is one of the main difficulties associated with analyzing water resources in a climate context. To cope with this limitation, CCAW will quantify the uncertainties associated with water resource applications and develop adaptation strategies for climate change. CCAW will provide their information and knowledge to policymakers to create national policies regarding climate change.
Realization of 6 key performance outcomes
CCAW selected 6 key outcomes for climate change adaptation regarding water resources. Among them, two are related to flooding problems, two to water supply problems, one to watershed management, and one to water industry problems. We will communicate these topics to the related governmental agencies from the beginning stage of this project and collaborate with these agencies to establish effective national policies.
Contribution to the global water industry
The global water resources market is expected to grow from 579 trillion KRW in 2011 to approximately 1,000 trillion KRW in 2025. Thus, the domestic water resource companies utilize international design and construction strategies. However, they are limited by to the lack of water resource data, socioeconomic information and international networks. Therefore, to contribute to the global water industry, CCAW will build a system of global data collection and analysis for water resources and provide the data to international collaborators.

CCAW will continue to establish a realistic strategy for water resource management based on climate change by ensuring that the research outcomes can be successfully transformed into policy actions and support. Thus, CCAW is committed to becoming a world leader in water welfare in the context of climate change by 2020. Your suggestions are very much appreciated. Thank you.
Climate Change Adaptation for Water Resources, Director
Deghyo Bae, Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, Sejong University
Gwanggaeto Building 1110, Sejong University, 209 Neungdong-ro, Gwangjin-gu, Seoul, Republic of Korea 05006
Tel : +82-2-3408-3337   Fax: +82-2-3408-4332
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