Climate Change, water resources, and agriculture: Impacts and adaptation measures

Abstract

Agriculture is one of the key domains that is significantly affected by climate change. The chapter presents the observed and projected impact of climate change on freshwater resources globally. In addition to this, case studies of successful implementation of adaptation measures adopted to tackle climate change-induced water stress in agriculture have been discussed with a special focus on high-altitude farming systems particularly vulnerable to increasing climate risk. As one of the potential adaptation measures, the relevance of water footprint as a tool to optimize water use and strategize cropping patterns with respect to crop water use efficiency and prevailing climatic conditions has also been discussed.