Global Change and Regional Impacts

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Global climatic change is expected to significantly impact natural resources and living conditions in semiarid regions. This volume explores various disciplinary and integrative methods to assess these impacts, focusing on the interactions among climate variability, water availability, land-use systems, and quality of life. Using the semiarid northeastern area of Brazil as a case study, it highlights the diverse expertise required to understand the complex relationships between natural and socio-economic systems, from integrated water analyses to transregional migration. The book outlines tools for integrating this knowledge to support strategic planning for sustainable development. It summarizes key research findings and presentations from the final conference of the WAVES Program held in Fortaleza, Brazil, on June 25-26, 2001. Reviews note that the book emphasizes results from a German-Brazilian initiative (Water Availability and Vulnerability of Ecosystems and Society, or WAVES) aimed at assessing the socioeconomic impacts of global change in northeast Brazil. Divided into eight parts, it discusses essential factors for developing future planning scenarios and offers valuable insights for decision-makers addressing sustainable development in a region vulnerable to climate variability. It also provides useful background information for those unfamiliar with the semiarid northeast Brazil region.