Climate change impact and vulnerability assessment of water resources systems : the case of Lower Bramaputra River Basin

Besides climatic change, current demographic trends, economic development and related land use changes have direct impact on increasing demand for freshwater resources. Taken together, the net effect of these supply and demand changes is affecting the vulnerability of water resources systems (WRSs), in which complex interactions of the social-ecological systems are in place. Therefore, for assessing vulnerability and risk of WRSs, the integrated contribution of several disciplines is required, enabling a comprehensive, but also dynamic description of present state and future trends. With the aim to integrate the assessment of risks of complex WRSs, this dissertation first focuses on the hydrologic impacts of climate change, with calculation of river flow thresholds, and the related water governance issues, and then it moves to the integrated assessment of vulnerability and risk of WRSs, with a focus on the development of operational approaches in the context of developing countries. The assessment has been conducted in the context of the Lower Brahmaputra River Basin (LBRB).