Operationalising Adaptive Capacity - Climate Change and Water Governance: Adaptive Capacity in Chile and Switzerland - page 236

indicators Operationalisation Chile Switzerland

Perceptions Awareness : Level of awareness

amongst water managers and
rights holders and government
bodies of hydrological change
and increasing uncertainty/
unreliability.

Observational awareness from irrigators
and water managers that climate is
changing, with reduced snow pack,
melting glaciers and precipitation
changes, but lack of popular
awareness on water conservation;
Acknowledgement that climate
impacts will heighten and
hydrological resources will be
increasingly diminished; DGA/
Presidential acceptance of climate
challenge.

Observations of change in the local climate (temperature,
snow pack, timing of snow melt, glacier retreat, isotherm,
permafrost) heighten the awareness of rate of climate
change. In the region, engagement on climate is higher in
the winter tourism and hydropower sector, where
increasing glacier melt heightens hydropower production
but increases material flows, in the reservoirs than in water
provision, where communes mainly use non-concession
spring water and there is a strong perception of Valais as
the 'water tower' of Europe. Preparations for one scale of
change (dry summers, glacier melt) but apathy towards
more drastic ones (glacier disappearance, water scarcity).

Perceptive and sensitive to change
but not reduced to apathy by it.

Openness : Openness to learning
lessons from external experts
and experiences, beyond their
own perceptions of uniqueness.

Strong perception of the uniqueness of
the Chilean model, therefore limiting
ability to learn from other
experiences. Old guard in some of
the JdVs may be seen unwilling to
move with the times; perceptions of
success of the Chilean water market.
MMA - other water/environmental
authorities are looking very strongly
to the experience in Europe of
implementation the WFD; DGA/
presidential acceptance of weaknesses
in the system/institutions - but not
of the approach. Because of the
uniqueness of the Chilean model,
they do not think that it is possible
for Chile to set up the same structure
as basin management may follow in
other countries.

Belief that historical adaptations to drier climate positions
Valais agriculture to be better prepared than rest of
Switzerland; research partnerships and knowledge
exchange associations within and outside of canton
suggest openness to learning from external experts and
other regions.

Ability to cope with change and
willingness to bend to new
management solutions or
paradigms, while not retaining
ideological rigidity.

(continued)