Adler, Robert W --- "Climate change and water law in agriculture" [2017] ELECD 504; in Angelo, Jane Mary; Du Plesis, Anél (eds), "Research Handbook on Climate Change and Agricultural Law" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2017) 103

Book Title: Research Handbook on Climate Change and Agricultural Law

Editor(s): Angelo, Jane Mary; Du Plesis, Anél

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN (hard cover): 9781784710637

Section: Chapter 5

Section Title: Climate change and water law in agriculture

Author(s): Adler, Robert W

Number of pages: 32

Abstract/Description:

Under international law, every person has a human right to basic life support goods and services, including food, clothing and shelter. All of these are supplied in part by agricultural economies. A growing global population will also increase demand for fiber and other agricultural materials, as well as biofuels that increasingly compete with food for agricultural production. Water is essential to this agricultural productivity, but water reliability is likely to decline in many regions of the world in the face of climate change. Water may be available in an agricultural region generally, but not at the location of the best soils or other resources, thus requiring storage and transport to support a successful agricultural economy. Sufficient water may be available to grow particular crops, but other parties may have competing water rights. Poor water quality may affect some crops more than others. Water law regimes, both domestic and international, help human economies use available water supplies for agriculture efficiently, effectively, or equitably, depending on the goals established by the governing law. Increasingly, water law also seeks to preserve human uses while also protecting aquatic and other water dependent ecosystems. As a result, there is a pressing need for individual nations and the global community to design and implement strategies to adapt existing water law to the potentially significant impacts of climate change. This chapter explores the impacts of climate change on the relationship between water and agriculture, and the degree to which domestic and international water law will have to adapt to those impacts. It reviews predictions about the likely impact of climate change on water supplies and the stability and reliability of those supplies. The chapter also evaluates the ability of both international water law and domestic water law – using US water law as the prime example – to adapt to those changes. Key Words: climate change, water law, agriculture, adaptation, risk, water supply