Local Water Governance and Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation are highly interacting. In most if not all situations governance of local water resources has to closely consider the requirements to adapt and mitigate the imminent impact of climate change. Implementing water resource management projects to face climate change is in most cases not effective when not considering modalities for local water governance. Where in the preceding Chapter the emphasis has been on governance, this chapter will more directly focus on climate change adaptation and mitigation.
Nevertheless, the cases described make clear that local governance measures are important, as empowerment, participatory planning and social organization of direct water users area prerequisite to operate and sustain integrated water resource management (IWRM).
The first section of this Chapter shortly introduces the IUCN ROWA project on Social, Ecological and Agricultural Resilience in the face of Climate Change (SEARCH) that is implemented in different countries of the MENA region. The second section illustrates processes and findings of the SEARCH project in the Tangier-Tetouan mountains of Morocco, while short case studies on Ground Water Contracts in different river Basins in Morocco complement this Chapter. All cases deal with the necessary adaptation to climate change in view of degrading ecosystems and hydrological flows and hence rural livelihoods.