Climate change and water resources: a case study of the canadian prairie region

Abstract

Climate change through altering the hydrologic regime would affect water supply in various parts of the world. Dry regions of Canada, such as the semi-arid Prairies, would be affected harder under the project climate change scenarios. This chapter reviews water availability and demand for the province of Saskatchewan, located in the semi-arid region of Canada. Implications of climate change for value of water and other socio-economic issues are also identifi ed. In the study region, it is inevitable that climate change would bring forth lower water availability, change in the seasonality of precipitation and its form, higher water demand for agricultural production plus other related implications. The latter type of implications may include health impacts, regional and local confl icts, and interregional migration of people. Under the future water stress levels, it is imperative that integrated water management, including demand management, is undertaken. Although climate change may be a factor that would affect future water resources, equally important are factors such as population, technology, people's attitude about water use and wastage.

Simulated Canola Yield Responses to Climate Change and Adaptation in Canada

“…Introduction of irrigation on the Prairies, especially at critical growth stages such as flowering, may be necessary for maintaining canola production. However, further studies are required to investigate water availability for irrigation and its economic potential (Lewis, 1989;Kulshreshtha, 2014).…”