---
OA_type: closed access
_id: '22545'
abstract:
- lang: eng
  text: Climate change represents a major increase in uncertainty that water managers
    and policy makers will need to integrate into water resources policy and management.
    A certain level of uncertainty has always existed in water resources planning,
    but the speed and intensity of changes in baseline conditions that climate change
    embodies might require a shift in perspective. This article draws on both the
    social and physical science results of the EU-FP7 ACQWA project to better understand
    the challenges and opportunities for adaptation to climate change impacts on the
    hydrology of the upper Rhone basin in the Canton Valais, Switzerland. It first
    presents the results of hydro-climatic change projections downscaled to more temporally
    and spatially-relevant frames of reference for decision makers. Then, it analyses
    the current policy and legislative framework within which these changes will take
    place, according to the policy coherence across different water-relevant frameworks
    as well as the integration and mainstreaming of climate change. It compares the
    current policy and legislative frameworks for different aspects of water resources
    management to the projected impacts of climate change on the hydrology of the
    upper Rhone basin, in order to examine the appropriateness of the current approach
    for responding to a changing climatic context. Significant uncertainties pose
    numerous challenges in the governance context. The study draws on adaptive governance
    principles, to propose policy actions across different scales of governance to
    better manage baseline variability as well as more ‘unpredictable’ uncertainty
    from climate change impacts.
article_processing_charge: No
article_type: original
author:
- first_name: Margot Hill
  full_name: Clarvis, Margot Hill
  last_name: Clarvis
- first_name: Simone
  full_name: Fatichi, Simone
  id: cf8e546b-a9b0-11f0-a43b-aa89ed1b56d6
  last_name: Fatichi
- first_name: Andrew
  full_name: Allan, Andrew
  last_name: Allan
- first_name: Jürg
  full_name: Fuhrer, Jürg
  last_name: Fuhrer
- first_name: Markus
  full_name: Stoffel, Markus
  last_name: Stoffel
- first_name: Franco
  full_name: Romerio, Franco
  last_name: Romerio
- first_name: Ludovic
  full_name: Gaudard, Ludovic
  last_name: Gaudard
- first_name: Paolo
  full_name: Burlando, Paolo
  last_name: Burlando
- first_name: Martin
  full_name: Beniston, Martin
  last_name: Beniston
- first_name: Elena
  full_name: Xoplaki, Elena
  last_name: Xoplaki
- first_name: Andrea
  full_name: Toreti, Andrea
  last_name: Toreti
citation:
  ama: 'Clarvis MH, Fatichi S, Allan A, et al. Governing and managing water resources
    under changing hydro-climatic contexts: The case of the upper Rhone basin. <i>Environmental
    Science &#38; Policy</i>. 2014;43:56-67. doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2013.11.005">10.1016/j.envsci.2013.11.005</a>'
  apa: 'Clarvis, M. H., Fatichi, S., Allan, A., Fuhrer, J., Stoffel, M., Romerio,
    F., … Toreti, A. (2014). Governing and managing water resources under changing
    hydro-climatic contexts: The case of the upper Rhone basin. <i>Environmental Science
    &#38; Policy</i>. Elsevier. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2013.11.005">https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2013.11.005</a>'
  chicago: 'Clarvis, Margot Hill, Simone Fatichi, Andrew Allan, Jürg Fuhrer, Markus
    Stoffel, Franco Romerio, Ludovic Gaudard, et al. “Governing and Managing Water
    Resources under Changing Hydro-Climatic Contexts: The Case of the Upper Rhone
    Basin.” <i>Environmental Science &#38; Policy</i>. Elsevier, 2014. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2013.11.005">https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2013.11.005</a>.'
  ieee: 'M. H. Clarvis <i>et al.</i>, “Governing and managing water resources under
    changing hydro-climatic contexts: The case of the upper Rhone basin,” <i>Environmental
    Science &#38; Policy</i>, vol. 43. Elsevier, pp. 56–67, 2014.'
  ista: 'Clarvis MH, Fatichi S, Allan A, Fuhrer J, Stoffel M, Romerio F, Gaudard L,
    Burlando P, Beniston M, Xoplaki E, Toreti A. 2014. Governing and managing water
    resources under changing hydro-climatic contexts: The case of the upper Rhone
    basin. Environmental Science &#38; Policy. 43, 56–67.'
  mla: 'Clarvis, Margot Hill, et al. “Governing and Managing Water Resources under
    Changing Hydro-Climatic Contexts: The Case of the Upper Rhone Basin.” <i>Environmental
    Science &#38; Policy</i>, vol. 43, Elsevier, 2014, pp. 56–67, doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2013.11.005">10.1016/j.envsci.2013.11.005</a>.'
  short: M.H. Clarvis, S. Fatichi, A. Allan, J. Fuhrer, M. Stoffel, F. Romerio, L.
    Gaudard, P. Burlando, M. Beniston, E. Xoplaki, A. Toreti, Environmental Science
    &#38; Policy 43 (2014) 56–67.
das_tickbox: '1'
date_created: 2026-07-27T12:30:24Z
date_published: 2014-11-01T00:00:00Z
date_updated: 2026-08-06T08:21:08Z
day: '01'
doi: 10.1016/j.envsci.2013.11.005
extern: '1'
intvolume: '        43'
keyword:
- Climate change impacts
- Adaptation
- Water governance
- Water management
- Rhone basin
- Switzerland
language:
- iso: eng
month: '11'
oa_version: None
page: 56-67
publication: Environmental Science & Policy
publication_identifier:
  eissn:
  - 1873-6416
  issn:
  - 1462-9011
publication_status: published
publisher: Elsevier
quality_controlled: '1'
scopus_import: '1'
status: public
title: 'Governing and managing water resources under changing hydro-climatic contexts:
  The case of the upper Rhone basin'
type: journal_article
user_id: 2DF688A6-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
volume: 43
year: '2014'
...