TITLE: Approaches to reducing vulnerability to variability: seasonal forecasts, financial tools, and 
water markets.  (Or “What I’ve done since graduating from CU”.)

ABSTRACT: Many sectoral decision-makers are faced with significant challenges related to variable 
conditions (water, financial, energy, etc.) rendering them vulnerable. This vulnerability is often 
exaggerated under extreme conditions.  Recently, various approaches to address this vulnerability to 
variability have been explored and integrated with sectoral models to inform water resource allocation 
and management decisions, particularly in countries of need.  While none of these approaches - 
individually or together - fully alleviate risks, they do have the potential to allow for proactive 
management.  Quantifying the value of this information is also often desirable.  This talk will briefly 
illustrate the pros and cons of these approaches through a number of case studies undertaken in our 
research group.