Framework for Integrated Water, Energy, and Environmental Resources Assessment, Planning, and Management: Lake Victoria Case Study
Abstract
This article describes a recent assessment study for Lake Victoria in East Africa. The study includes three interlinked components. The first pertains to Lake Victoria regulation and includes climate and hydrologic forecasting (seasonal, inter-annual, and centennial), and outflow regulation (water resources planning). The second pertains to energy system planning, and the third to environmental and socio-economic impact assessments. These components converge at the operational level where water, energy, and environmental management are harmonized through the use of a decision support system, the Lake Victoria Decision Support Tool. Some of the broad study findings are summarized below: (1)Lake Victoria is entering a new era in which sustainable water resources management is tightly linked to and can only be achieved by proactive energy planning. To meet this new challenge, and maximize the benefit of the decision support system, water and energy sector decisions must be institutionally coordinated. (2)Climate and hydrologic forecasts of sufficient skill are critical for effective water resources and energy planning and management. More specifically, extensive assessments with several GCMs and climate scenarios indicate that Lake Victoria will most likely be adversely impacted by climate change with potentially serious local and regional consequences. Furthermore, seasonal and inter-annual forecasts are very important in meeting medium term water and energy demands and minimizing the costs of thermal energy generation. (3)Wetland ecological and socio-economic benefits are comparable to power sector benefits, underscoring the need for more comprehensive evaluations of non-power water uses and integrative water, energy, and environmental planning and management. (4)Integrated forecast-decision systems are excellent means to bring to bear and make practically available advances in various water-related disciplines for the benefit of managers and policy makers.
- Publication:
-
AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2006
- Bibcode:
- 2006AGUFM.H44A..07G
- Keywords:
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- 1807 Climate impacts;
- 1836 Hydrological cycles and budgets (1218;
- 1655);
- 1873 Uncertainty assessment (3275);
- 1878 Water/energy interactions (0495);
- 1880 Water management (6334)