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Dr. Carmen Marchiori
Academic Fellow at London School of Economics and Political Science, Centre for Environmental Policy and Governance
Location:
United Kingdom
Project Title: On the Design and Implementation of Climate Adaptation Policies in the Context of Water Resource Management
Publications and Presentations: Forthcoming
Project Description
The Middle East and North Africa area has the lowest volume of annual renewable water resources and water resource per capita, making it the most water-scarce region in the world. Moreover, rapid population increases, economic growth, urbanization, and expansion of irrigated lands are drastically increasing the demand for water. The situation is exacerbated by the negative impact of climate change on water supply.
As an Alcoa Foundation fellow, Dr. Carmen Marchiori is addressing the socio-economic dimension of climate change, devoting special attention to the design and implementation of climate adaptation policies in the context of water resource management. In particular, she is interested in the identification of flexibility and equity criteria, which can take into account the uncertainty associated with climate variability.
"While climate change mitigation should remain a priority for policymaking, especially at the international level, there is an urgent need to develop strategies for adaptation to the already visible climate-driven changes in water resources, especially at the local level," said Dr. Marchiori. "For adaptation, it may be necessary to define priority water uses and find appropriate ways to implement prioritization. Choices may have to be made concerning the allocation of water resources, and criteria may need to be developed on the basis of which choices can be made."
She feels one crucial aspect in this context is the incorporation of uncertainty in the design of water facilities and water allocation arrangements.
"Water management needs to be capable to respond to unexpected developments caused by climate change, and future investments in infrastructures must be climate-proof," said Dr. Marchiori. "Flexibility in mechanism design is critical to account for this uncertainty, and special emphasis should be placed on 'no-regret' and 'win-win' measures that are effective and sustainable under different scenarios. Equity issues may arise in the presence of uncertainty due to the fact that agents' attitudes toward risk and risk-management capacity vary with the initial distribution of wealth."
Biographical Information
Dr. Carmen Marchiori holds a B.A. in economics from the University of Venice and a M.Sc. in economics from the University College London. She did a joint Ph.D. in economics and environment at the London School of Economics, and her doctoral dissertation focused on the application of game theory and negotiation theory to the management and allocation of water resources.
While obtaining her Ph.D., Dr. Marchiori spent a visiting period at the University of Berkeley, where she investigated the formation and effectiveness of buy-back rights schemes for groundwater protection. From 2000 to 2002, she worked as a researcher at the Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei (FEEM), an international research institute in the field of sustainable development. Her research activity at FEEM focused on endogenous technical progress, uncertainty, and coalition formation in climate negotiations. From 2004 to 2005, she collaborated with the World Bank on a project concerning the allocation of water resources among production and environmental uses in the Maritsa River Basin in Bulgaria.
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