Impact of water degradation on ecosystem change and adaptation strategy for sustainable development

Abstract

Environmental pollution is becoming intertwined with degradations of water environment, imbalance of the hydrologic cycle, thermal environment, and contamination. Water stress has intensified water use conflicts between upstream and downstream and between agriculture and municipal/industrial sectors. Here, the process-based National Integrated Catchment-based Eco-hydrology (NICE) model, which includes interactions between surface water, canopy, unsaturated water, aquifer, lake, and rivers, was applied to develop coupled human and natural systems and to assess the impact of water degradation on ecosystem change. Combinations of a numerical model, satellite image, and statistical analysis showed close relationship between water resource and economic growth, which has greatly affected ecosystem degradation and its serious burden on the environment. The author also presented a procedure to visualize the missing role of hydrothermal interactions in atmospheric, land and water areas, which would be effective to recover the sound hydrologic cycle and to create thermally-pleasing environments in an eco-conscious society. The procedure to construct an integrated assessment system for win-win solution would support decision-making on sustainable development and adaptation to climate change and urbanization in global scale. © 2011 WIT Press.