Global change and its effect on coastal water resources – Cases of the Asia pacific region

Abstract

While global change is directly affecting water resources, it is also well know that anthropogenic impacts on hydro-geological systems can result in long term harm and the degradation of the resource if they are not adequately managed. While this witnessed around the world, management options to prevent increasing damage to the surrounding environment are being developed on an individual site basis. Salinity intrusion with the eventual degradation of both land and water quality is one of the most common examples of this type of problem. Due to increase in demand to fresh water resources, ground water is being exploited, and coastal ground water systems hydraulically connected to the ocean necessarily has to cope with salinity intrusion. This paper presents our observations and analyses of salinity intrusion at selected areas in the Asia Pacific region, namely in New Zealand, Australia, Japan and India. It discusses the characteristics of each site, simulates some sites using state of the art soft ware, and analyzes the impacts on the environment. It also presents the management practices used to mitigate the resulting damage on the environment at each site.