Governance for Drought Resilience Introduction

International Journal of Environmental Studies, 1990

Drought affects more people than any other hazard, in both developed and developing countries, yet few governments have taken steps to prepare for it. This situation stems partly from the complex nature of drought, which affects various sectors of society in different ways, and partly from an inability or unwillingness of governments to accept drought as a normal part of climate, not as an extreme random event. Scientific and policy communities have become increasingly concerned about the inability of governments to respond to drought in an effective and timely manner, and some have called for improved drought planning and management. This paper discusses planning as a means to reduce societal vulnerability to drought and outlines an approach that governments and international organizations can follow to prepare for severe drought. The basis of this approach is a ten-step planning process created from recommendations made at the 1986 International Symposium and Workshop on Drought. The status of drought planning worldwide is also discussed.

2016

Drought has been a threat to human existence throughout history. Today, as in the past, drought alters the course of civilizations. It is not merely a physical phenomenon, but the result of an interplay between a natural event (precipitation deficiencies due to natural climatic variability on varying timescales) and the demand placed on water supply by human-use systems. Extended periods of drought have resulted in significant economic, environmental, and social impacts, including food supply disruptions, famine, massive soil erosion, migrations of people, and wars. Human activities often exacerbate the impacts of drought (e.g., the Dust Bowl in the Great Plains, the Sahelian drought of the early 1970s). This trend appears to be accelerating because of the increasing demand being placed on local and regional water resources as a result of the earth's rapidly expanding population. Recent droughts in developing and developed countries and the concomitant impacts and personal hardships that resulted have underscored the vulnerability of all societies to this natural hazard. It is difficult to determine whether it is the frequency of drought that is increasing, or simply societal vulnerability to it.

Atmosphere, 2022

Droughts have been identified as an environmental hazard by environmentalists, ecologists, hydrologists, meteorologists, geologists, and agricultural experts. Droughts are characterised by a decrease in precipitation over a lengthy period, such as a season or a year, and can occur in virtually all climatic zones, including both high and low rainfall locations. This study reviewed drought-related impacts on the environment and other components particularly, in South Africa. Several attempts have been made using innovative technology such as earth observation and climate information as recorded in studies. Findings show that the country is naturally water deficient, which adds to the climate fluctuation with the average annual rainfall in South Africa being far below the global average of 860 mm per year. Drought in South Africa’s Western Cape Province, for example, has resulted in employment losses in the province’s agriculture sector. According to the third quarterly labor force sur...

Governance for Drought Resilience, 2016

Over the last decade, Europe's drought management and policy has been characterized by a predominantly crisis-oriented approach. However, the widening gap between the impacts of drought episodes and the ability to prepare, manage and mitigate such droughts has motivated the European Union (EU) to make significant improvements that address drought management using a preventative approach (Kampragou et al. 2011). Not surprisingly, disaster response and recovery policy, disaster prevention, and mitigation and preparedness approaches have become increasingly more widespread. That said, in order to tackle drought risk and its impacts, an integrated approach to water governance is needed, one that considers multiple dimensions of water management (Bressers et al. 2013). Such an increased demand for more sustainable and proactive policies must stem from all sectors, including agriculture, urban development, energy, nature conservation, and recreation. To create a drought-resilient society, equipped with the appropriate tools and abilities to respond and cope with the impacts of extreme events such as droughts, requires development of long-term strategies and processes to address and reduce the risks of drought (Kampragou et al. 2011). This chapter focuses on the main EU policies related to drought and water scarcity and highlights recent policy developments in all relevant sectors. Additionally, it provides an overview of those European policies that impact drought and

Academic Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies, 2013

This research aims at exploring the importance of Drought Policy at International, National and Local level. Water, its importance and effects of its scarcity were discussed. The impact of climate change on drought in the 21 st century is intense as this disaster is frequently reoccurring in many regions around the world regardless of the climatic conditions and geographic location. Australia is the only country that has adopted a Drought Policy in the world. Georgia State in the United State also has a Drought Policy in place. The Drought Policies were briefly reviewed to show the importance of adopting such policy. The policy provides safety net to affected victims.

2012

The Missouri Review, 1992

Hydrological Processes, 2016

2019

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2014

There is increasing concern worldwide about the ineffectiveness of current drought management practices that are largely based on crisis management. These practices are reactive and, therefore, only treat the symptoms (impacts) of drought rather than the underlying causes for the vulnerabilities associated with impacts. Through the adoption of national drought policies that are focused on risk reduction and complemented by drought mitigation or preparedness plans at various levels of government, the coping capacity of nations to manage droughts can be improved. The time for adopting an approach that emphasizes drought risk reduction is now, given the spiraling impacts of droughts in an ever-increasing number of sectors and the current and projected trends for the increased frequency, severity and duration of drought events in association with a changing climate. This paper discusses the underlying concepts of drought, the principles and objectives of national drought policies and a ...

2000

1995

Given worldwide experience with drought during the past several decades and the magnitude of associated impacts, it is apparent that vulnerability to extended periods of water shortage is escalating. Developing a national or provincial drought policy and preparedness plan is a complicated but essential first step toward reducing societal vulnerability. Until recently, nations had devoted little effort to drought preparedness, preferring instead the reactive or crisis management approach. Presently, an increasing number of nations are pursuing a more proactive approach that emphasizes the principles of risk management and sustainable development. Because of the multitude of impacts associated with drought and the numerous governmental agencies that have responsibility for some aspect of monitoring, assessment, mitigation, and planning, developing a policy and plan must be an integrated process within and between levels of government. This paper will outline a generic process that can...

2001