A spatial evaluation of global wildfire-water risks to human and natural systems.
Sci Total Environ
; 610-611: 1193-1206, 2018 Jan 01.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-28851140
ABSTRACT
The large mediatic coverage of recent massive wildfires across the world has emphasized the vulnerability of freshwater resources. The extensive hydrogeomorphic effects from a wildfire can impair the ability of watersheds to provide safe drinking water to downstream communities and high-quality water to maintain riverine ecosystem health. Safeguarding water use for human activities and ecosystems is required for sustainable development; however, no global assessment of wildfire impacts on water supply is currently available. Here, we provide the first global evaluation of wildfire risks to water security, in the form of a spatially explicit index. We adapted the Driving forces-Pressure-State-Impact-Response risk analysis framework to select a comprehensive set of indicators of fire activity and water availability, which we then aggregated to a single index of wildfire-water risk using a simple additive weighted model. Our results show that water security in many regions of the world is potentially vulnerable, regardless of socio-economic status. However, in developing countries, a critical component of the risk is the lack of socio-economic capability to respond to disasters. Our work highlights the importance of addressing wildfire-induced risks in the development of water security policies; the geographic differences in the components of the overall risk could help adapting those policies to different regional contexts.
Palavras-chave
Texto completo:
1
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Ecossistema
/
Conservação dos Recursos Naturais
/
Incêndios Florestais
Tipo de estudo:
Etiology_studies
/
Risk_factors_studies
Limite:
Humans
Idioma:
En
Ano de publicação:
2018
Tipo de documento:
Article