Climate, Resources and Society
Oxford Centre for Water Research
International Geographical Union (IGU)
CRS in the news : Climate change and wine production in Britain
Research in the ECI on Climate, Resources and Society (CRS) spans three dimensions:
Within this matrix, we focus on five substantive themes:
Theme one: The impact of climate change on managed and semi-natural resources--land, water and biodiversity -- addresses the "what if" question: What will be the impacts if climate change? Our European project on climate change and agriculture illustrates many innovative methodologies for climate change impact assessment.
Theme two: Adaptation to climatic hazards and climate change evaluates response options, including social and institutional learning, over the next few years to decades: How can we cope with present hazards and future climate change? For example, a dynamic approach to projections of water demand provides a systematic means to test hypotheses about sensitivity to trends and extremes in climate, the effect of underlying demographic and consumer change, and the impact of demand management.
Theme three: For the first time in our history, we can predict many of the features of our weather and climate. This extraordinary skill underlies our aim to develop techniques for seasonal climate forecasts, with lead times of months to perhaps a few years, and apply them in the management of resources and economies and in disaster preparedness. Seasonal climate forecasting provides new opportunities to manage resources -- to anticipate climate change.
Theme four: Integrated assessment is a growing field that seeks to bridge the three dimensions noted above. Understaning the impacts of climatic variations, and the efficacy of adaptive strategies, requires assessments that integrate: across sectors (e.g., agriculture and semi-natural ecosystems influence water supply), between geophysical and socio-economic factors, and among the many stakeholders responsible for adaptive responses. Our work focuses on land cover and land use, economic valuation of climate change damages and understanding climate policy.
Theme five: Vulnerable communities -- hot spots of environmental, social, economic and political change -- provide a connection between the driving forces of global change and the contextual nuances of vulnerability and deprivation. In association with the Refugee Studies Programme and Department of Geography, this theme addresses the conjuncture of environment and livelihood security.
Methodologies underpinning our research relate to integrated assessment. Key concerns include (see specific projects for current development):
Further details are provided in the project synopses.
Presentations of our research workOur research is reported in numerous published documents--journal papers, books, brochures, etc. At the same time, we frequently report results at conferences and workshops. We are now making an effort to provide public access to these presentations, with some caveats regarding unpublished and confidential material. Recent presentations can be found on the ECI web here
Climate, Resources and Society Research projects ECI Introduction Other ECI research programmes
Climate, Resources and Society Overview ECI Introduction Other ECI research programmes