The importance of freshwater to our life support system is now widely recognised, as are the consequences of water insecurity and water resources degradation. There are many pressures on water – population growth, urbanisation, land use change and the need to grow more food, to name but a few. Climate change is an added pressure, but how much do we know about its impacts on water systems and livelihoods, which areas and populations are most vulnerable, and what can we do to ensure that human and environmental needs are protected?  

In this, the eigth meeting in the ‘Climate Change and International Development’ Series, Professor Nigel Arnell and Dr Margaret Catley-Carlson discussed the scientific evidence linking climate change and water in developing countries, and the threats and opportunities arising from existing and future climate variability. So far, these issues have not been adequately addressed in either climate change analyses or policy debates in the water sector, as the recent IPCC Technical Paper on Climate Change and Water recognises. This meeting was therefore a timely and important contribution to a much needed discussion.