World Bank2014-01-172014-01-172013-01https://hdl.handle.net/10986/16586Climate change is at the top of the development agenda in Central America. This region, together with the Caribbean, is highly vulnerable to the effects of climate change in Latin America. Climate change is manifesting itself through higher average temperatures and more frequent droughts that result in higher water stress, and through the rising frequency of extreme weather events such as tropical storms, hurricanes, floods and landslides, all of which pose significant challenges in the rural water supply and sanitation sector. The paper starts with a review of the historic data on temperature and precipitation trends in Central America and particularly at the regional level in Nicaragua. The data reveal a clear trend of the growing climate variability, increased water stress for crops, and greater frequency of extreme weather events. The rising intensity and frequency of ex-treme weather events is among the most critical risks to the region's development agenda, and they translate into high economic losses. This paper examines the impacts and implications of potential climate change on water resources in Nicaragua and makes key recommendations to integrate climate change and rural water supply and sanitation policies and programs in a way that increase resilience to current and future climate conditions.0en-USCC BY 3.0 IGOAFFORESTATIONAGRICULTURAL ACTIVITIESAGRICULTURE PRODUCTIONAIRAIR QUALITYAQUEDUCTSAQUIFERAQUIFER RECHARGEAQUIFERSARSENICATMOSPHEREAVAILABLE WATERAVERAGE ANNUAL PRECIPITATIONBIODIVERSITY CONSERVATIONBUFFER ZONESCAPACITY BUILDINGCARBONCARBON EMISSIONCARBON SINKCATTLE RAISINGCHEMICAL PROCESSESCHEMICALSCHILD MORTALITYCLIMATECLIMATE CHANGECLIMATE CHANGESCLIMATE DATACLIMATE IMPACTSCLIMATE VARIABILITYCLIMATOLOGYCOASTAL ZONESCOASTSCOLORSCOMMUNITY MEMBERSCOMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONSCOMMUNITY WATERCONSTRUCTIONCOVERINGCROP CULTIVATIONCROP DIVERSIFICATIONCROP PRODUCTIONCUBIC METERSCYCLONESDAMSDECISION MAKERSDEFORESTATIONDEMAND FOR WATERDEMAND MANAGEMENTDESALINATIONDISTRIBUTION OF WATERDISTRIBUTION SYSTEMSDOMESTIC USEDOMESTIC WATERDOMESTIC WATER SUPPLYDRAINAGE SYSTEMSDRINKING WATERDRINKING WATER QUALITYDRINKING WATER SUPPLYDROUGHTECOSYSTEMEL NINOELECTRICITYELECTRICITY GENERATIONEMISSION REDUCTIONEMISSION SCENARIOEMISSION SCENARIOSEMISSIONSENGINEERINGENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATIONENVIRONMENTAL HEALTHENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENTENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTIONEVAPORATIONFILTRATIONFLOODINGFLOODSFOOD INSECURITYFORESTFOREST COVERFOREST MANAGEMENTFRAMEWORK CONVENTION ON CLIMATE CHANGEFRESHWATERFRESHWATER RESOURCESGASGCMGHGGLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGEGRAVITYGREENHOUSEGREENHOUSE GASGREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONGROUNDWATERGROUNDWATER QUALITYGROUNDWATER RECHARGEGROUNDWATER RESOURCESGROUNDWATER SOURCESHIGH LEVELSHORIZONTAL WELLSHOUSEHOLD USEHOUSEHOLDSHUMAN WASTEHURRICANESHYDROLOGICAL MODELHYDROLOGYHYDROPOWER POTENTIALINVESTMENT DECISIONSIPCCIRRIGATIONIRRIGATION MANAGEMENTIRRIGATION SYSTEMSIRRIGATION WATERLAND COVERLAND DEGRADATIONLAND USELAND USE CHANGELAND USE PRACTICESMETEOROLOGICAL STATIONSMETEOROLOGYMUNICIPAL AUTHORITIESMUNICIPAL LEVELMUNICIPAL WATERMUNICIPALITIESNATURAL RECHARGENATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENTNATURAL RESOURCESPIT LATRINESPOLLUTIONPONDSPOPULATION DENSITYPOPULATION GROWTHPOTABLE WATERPOTABLE WATER SUPPLYPPPRESSUREPUBLIC HEALTHPUMPINGPUMPING SYSTEMSPUMPSQUALITY OF WATERQUALITY STANDARDSRAINRAINWATERRAINWATER HARVESTINGRECYCLINGREGIONAL GOVERNMENTRENEWABLE ENERGYRESERVOIRSRETROFITTINGRIVER BASINSRIVERSRUNOFFRURAL COMMUNITIESRURAL WATERRURAL WATER SUPPLYRURAL WATER SUPPLY SYSTEMSSAFE DRINKING WATERSALINE INTRUSIONSANITATIONSANITATION COMMITTEESANITATION INFRASTRUCTURESANITATION SECTORSANITATION SYSTEMSSECTORAL ALLOCATIONSSEDIMENTSSOIL EROSIONSOLID WASTESOURCES OF WATERSPRINGSSTORMWATERSUGAR CANESUPPLY OF WATERSURFACE TEMPERATURESURFACE WATERSURFACE WATER DRAINAGESURFACE WATER DRAINAGE SYSTEMSSURFACE WATER QUALITYSUSTAINABLE USESUSTAINABLE WATERTREATMENT PLANTSTROPICAL STORMSUNDERGROUND STORAGEUSE OF WATERVARIABLE RAINFALLWASTEWATERWASTEWATER REUSEWASTEWATER TREATMENTWATER AUTHORITYWATER AVAILABILITYWATER CONSERVATIONWATER CONTAMINATIONWATER CONVEYANCEWATER DEMANDWATER DISTRIBUTIONWATER DISTRIBUTION SYSTEMSWATER FLOWSWATER INFRASTRUCTUREWATER MANAGEMENTWATER MARKETSWATER METERINGWATER POLLUTIONWATER PRICINGWATER PRODUCTIONWATER QUALITYWATER RESEARCHWATER RESOURCEWATER RESOURCESWATER RESOURCES CONSERVATIONWATER RESOURCES MANAGEMENTWATER SCARCITYWATER SECTORWATER SOURCEWATER SOURCESWATER SUPPLIESWATER SUPPLY PROJECTSWATER SUPPLY SYSTEMSWATER SYSTEMSWATER TABLEWATER TRANSFERSWATER USEWATER USERSWATER WELLSWATER WITHDRAWALSWATERSHEDWATERSHED MANAGEMENTWATERSHEDSWELL MAINTENANCEWELLSWorld Bank10.1596/16586