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Vision 2030: the resilience of water supply and sanitation in the face of climate change - technology projection study

Climate change is expected to affect the capacity and operations of existing water and sanitation infrastructure and services. These services have to prepare for the widely anticipated consequences of floods and droughts, or risk compromising access to safe drinking water and adequate sanitation for substantial numbers of people in developing and developed countries, with cascading effects on human health and development. These impacts will also have to be taken into account in the design and construction of new systems. The Vision 2030 study aims to increase understanding of how anticipated climate change may affect drinking-water and sanitation systems and what can be done to optimize resilience of infrastructure and services. The present report provides information on drinking-water supply and sanitation facilities and their vulnerabilities to climatic events, as background for directing policy on drinking-water supply and sanitation development to minimize the potential impact of climate change on MDG target 7c. Progress towards this target is being monitored by a joint initiative of WHO and UNICEF