The global challenges posed by climate change are widespread, impacting various aspects of human life, with water resources at the forefront of these challenges. As climate change advances, it is projected to exacerbate water scarcity and access issues, given the intensification of water-related hazards (such as hurricanes and flooding) and rising temperatures that will lead to sea-level rise and saltwater intrusion. 

Despite advances in climate change science, significant uncertainties and knowledge gaps persist regarding the impact of climate change on various production sectors and the adaptive strategies that global communities can employ to address climate change-induced water challenges. Therefore, research on sustainable water resource management and equitable climate adaptation mechanisms are imperative. In response, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) launched the Lima Adaptation Knowledge Initiative (LAKI) in 2014 to close the knowledge gaps necessary to enhance climate adaptation. University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS) students Maxwell Tanner (MS ’24), Alifaire Noreen (MS ’24), Lis Huang (MS ’24), and Daniel Patmon (MS ’24), along with their advisor, SEAS Lecturer Avik Basu, are collaborating with UNFCCC’s LAKI on a capstone project that aims to close priority knowledge gaps in the optimization of water resource management and climate change adaptation in water-scare nations.

As with many project proposals, the objectives and goals were broadly defined, leaving the team to narrow the scope and identify a feasible effort given time and funding limitations. The team focused on studying climate-resilient water management through the Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM) framework in the Caribbean with specific attention to Barbados and St. Lucia. The team hopes their project will identify barriers to implementing IWRM and thereby empower governments and communities to develop effective strategies for water resource management and climate resilience.

IWRM is a framework that promotes the coordinated development and management of water, land, and related resources to maximize economic and social welfare in an equitable manner while preserving vital ecosystems. According to Noreen, IWRM involves “the integration of water in every facet of development; like, when you’re thinking about developing a new housing suburb, how is water factored into that innately, rather than being the afterthought.” 

Huang emphasized the interconnectedness of water management in IWRM and the importance of examining “how it [water management] is linked together across all different industries and facets and how it can be managed in a sustainable, environmental and economic way.”

Although IWRM was introduced in 1992 at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, its implementation has been challenging. The master’s project team recognized significant barriers to its adoption, including outdated knowledge systems and data essential for IWRM planning and implementation, which must be updated if IWRM is to succeed, team members said. As Tanner explained, “A lot of the data we were working with was over 20 years old…we hope to update the state of knowledge, so people aren’t using data that are two or three decades old.” 

Another significant barrier identified by the team was the knowledge gap between IWRM plans and community awareness and engagement. Huang was surprised at the wide gap between the plan and the excitement of those involved in its design and implementation process, and the community members. She noted that when community members were asked about the plan, “they didn’t know what we were talking about.” These knowledge gaps can create discrepancies between theoretical plans and practical implementation. Indeed, Huang highlights that “things [may] look great on paper, and great as a concept for academics, professionals, and policymakers, but when it comes down to hitting the road and having actual impact, there’s a very big discrepancy.” 

According to Huang, narrowing down these discrepancies in knowledge and perception is key to ensuring that the plan genuinely provides the positive impacts expected. As a result, this became a focus of their project. 

The team’s on-the-ground experience in Barbados in August 2023 also revealed significant disparities in water access between tourists and local communities. According to Tanner, the local people in Barbados didn’t have access to clean water year-round, but the tourists did. “I knew when I turned on the tap, I would always be able to fill up my water bottle. Meanwhile, there might have been people in the community that when they turned on their tap, nothing came out,” he noted.

Although tourism may be the economic development priority for island nations, it can greatly threaten the resilience of small island countries like Barbados, given its drain on limited island resources and exacerbation of environmental pollution, which leaves local communities highly vulnerable to climate-induced water challenges. Tanner emphasized that he was surprised by the magnitude of water consumption required by tourism. “I knew they used water for showers and drinking water, but after doing the research, there’s more to it, like sheets, towels, pools, all the food, and even golfing, a huge tourist activity on the island that requires a lot of water. And some hotels don’t have signs telling tourists ‘hey, this is a water-stressed nation, try to preserve water when you can,” he said.

Addressing the tradeoffs between economic growth and sustainability is a balancing act, according to Tanner. For many Caribbean countries, the revenue from tourism represents a large portion of their GDP. "For some of these countries, half of their total GDP is tourism," said Tanner, who added that governments often prioritize economic gain over sustainability and community well-being.

Noreen also highlighted tradeoffs between economic growth and water management through the lens of the production sector with consideration of what she referred to as virtual water, which is the water used to make a product. 

“Barbadian rum is one of the largest exports,” she explained. “Therefore, we beg the question: what goes into that? How much water did it take to grow the sugar cane, and how much did it take to harvest and process that? How much water did it take to run the machinery facilitating the harvesting process? How much water was taken to fuel the boats and fill the potable water on these boats to ship it? That’s a large sum of water coming from a water-scarce nation.” 

She added: “There’s so much water exported in ways that we don’t even think about as consumers. And then we ask: How do you balance water conservation and GDP and ensure that there is economic resilience as well?”

By raising awareness of these barriers and providing a framework to address them, the team aims to contribute to improved climate adaptation efforts and sustainable water management practices worldwide. The team took on the broad challenge presented by UNFCCC’s LAKI by focusing on identifying knowledge and implementation gaps in IWRM in Barbados and St. Lucia, thereby providing valuable insight into IWRM efforts across the globe. 

As Noreen reflected, “being able to identify the barriers of IWRM, even if in a small region, and say ‘look, here is what we’ve identified from this region, take a look at that paper and [see] if any of that fits for you… It’s been nice working on this project with real-world impact.” 

Although the master‘s project team hopes to provide useful insights into IWRM efforts generally, it also aims to provide real-world information directly to decision makers in their study region so that policy can improve the climate resilience of the resident communities. “We hope our project can provide insight to the government so they can fix their water sanitation and management system,” Tanner said, “so that people always have access to clean water, [with a] water management [plan] that can withstand climate change impacts such as rising sea levels and saltwater intrusion.” 

The team is in the final stages of creating an end-user guide for IWRM specific to the Caribbean. Their objective is to bridge the gap between scientific knowledge and practical application, aiming to improve communication and provide impactful information. Alongside this guide, they are preparing a detailed report summarizing their research findings. In the future, they aspire to present their work at COP28.