Summary of Remarks: Many have observed that water is a key delivery mechanism of climate change impacts – more intense precipitation as well as droughts; changes in seasonality and quality of runoff within watersheds; and more subtle changes in the supply and demand for water for use in human and natural systems. Multiple solutions to these impacts are available, but all involve challenges: some technological solutions are expensive and/or require increased use of energy; conservation efforts involve changes in human behavior; and there are numerous challenges associated with governance of interwoven social and environmental systems. Reframing water management decisions can help reduce vulnerability and enhance supply reliability.
For the last 6
years Katharine L. Jacobs has been a professor in the University of Arizona, Department of
Soil, Water and Environmental Science and Deputy Director and Associate
Director of the NSF Center for Sustainability of Arid Region Hydrology and
Riparian Areas at the University of Arizona. From 2006 through 2009, Jacobs
was the Executive Director of the Arizona Water Institute, a consortium of the
three state universities focused on water-related research, education and
technology transfer in support of water supply sustainability. She has more
than twenty years of experience as a water manager for the state of Arizona
Department of Water Resources, including 14 years as director of the Tucson
Active Management Area. Her research interests include water policy,
connecting science and decision-making, stakeholder engagement, use of climate
information for water management applications, climate change adaptation and
drought planning. Ms. Jacobs earned her M.L.A. in environmental planning from
the University of California, Berkeley. She has served on eight National
Research Council panels, most recently chairing the Americas Climate Choices
panel on Adapting to the Impacts of Climate Change.
