Adaptation to Climate Change in Hermosillo, Sonora: A Case Study

January 27, 2004
Mexico City

Introduction

As expressed by the Mexican Government, water is a matter of national security; therefore, its availability and quality are analysis-disserving issues in several sectors. Climate Change in Mexico will result in, inter alia, disturbances to the hydrological cycle.

One of the main problems that the city of Hermosillo, Sonora will have to face has to do with water availability. This is due to growing competition for such resource between agriculture and urban sectors, which has allowed Hermosillo authorities to ponder several potential solutions to meet the increasing demand from population.

This project was funded by the US-EPA Global Programs Division, in collaboration with the National Institute of Ecology of SEMARNAT. The former subcontracted the firm Stratus Consulting to perform de project, which in turn hired the Centro de Ciencias de la Atmósfera from the UNAM (Center for Atmosphere Sciences-UNAM).

From the point of view of its objectives, activities and results, said initiative is considered the first one on the subject of adaptation to climate change in Mexico.

Objectives

To identify and assess adaptation possibilities to foreseen impacts of future climate change on water resources in northern Mexico.

To determine working programs with authorities, key “performers” in the scope of water issues, and local academics, which may result in proposals for adaptation measures to face the problem related to water availability.

To implement a process to explore climate change adaptation alternatives to be applied in different regions of Mexico, as well as in other countries.

Project Development

The city of Hermosillo, Sonora, was chosen for the case study to present the problem of water availability and a clear sign of climate change.

In the first part, regional climate, its variability and trends were analyzed, and climate change scenarios were generated. Later, three adaptation schemes deemed as of priority were depicted through a consultation process with key “performers” in the region. Apart from providing a technical description of each adaptation measure, institutional and respective legal arrangements and lessons learnt from other successful projects and the feasibility of each alternative were analyzed.

The adaptation alternatives chosen were: a) water culture; b) rainfall water capture, and c) construction materials. These were assessed according to the current water status in Hermosillo, and also taking into account two climate future scenarios.

Workshop for the Presentation of Final Results of the Study “Adaptación al Cambio Climático, Hermosillo, Sonora: Un Estudio de Caso” (“Adaptation to Climate Change in Hermosillo, Sonora: A Study Case”)

SEMARNAT Building
Av. Revolución 1425

January 27, 2004

Agenda