Description: Investing in Drought Preparedness

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Investing in Drought Preparedness

Drought is a normal part of climate for virtually every country. This paper notes that in response, a risk-based management approach is more cost effective because it emphasizes improved monitoring and early warning systems; development of strong...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors:	Wilhite, Donald, Darghouth, Salah, Dinar, Ariel
Language:	English
Published:	World Bank, Washington, DC 2012
Subjects:	AGRICULTURAL SERVICES CLIMATE CLIMATE FORECASTS CROP TYPES CULTIVATION DECISION MAKERS DECISION MAKING DROUGHT DROUGHT CONDITIONS DROUGHT MANAGEMENT DROUGHT MITIGATION DROUGHT PREPAREDNESS DROUGHT RISK EDUCATION PROGRAMS EFFECTS OF DROUGHT EMERGENCY DROUGHT EVAPOTRANSPIRATION FARMERS GLOBAL WARMING GROUNDWATER GROUNDWATER SUPPLIES INSTITUTIONAL CAPACITY INSURANCE IRRIGATION IRRIGATION TECHNOLOGY LAND USE LIVESTOCK MOISTURE POOR POTENTIAL IMPACTS POVERTY REDUCTION POVERTY REDUCTION STRATEGIES PRECIPITATION PROGRAMS RAINFALL RISK MANAGEMENT RURAL RURAL COMMUNITIES RURAL DEVELOPMENT SEASONAL FORECASTS SOCIAL IMPACTS SOIL STORAGE CAPACITY TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE URBAN WATER URBAN WATER SUPPLY WATER CONSERVATION WATER MANAGEMENT WATER MANAGERS WATER QUALITY WATER RESERVOIR WATER RESOURCE WATER RESOURCE MANAGEMENT WATER RESOURCES WATER REUSE WATER STORAGE WATER SUPPLY SYSTEMS WATER USE WATER USERS
Online Access:	http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2006/02/7009373/investing-drought-preparedness http://hdl.handle.net/10986/9639

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Summary:	Drought is a normal part of climate for virtually every country. This paper notes that in response, a risk-based management approach is more cost effective because it emphasizes improved monitoring and early warning systems; development of strong decision-support systems; identification and implementation of mitigation actions; education and training of policy makers, natural resources managers, and the public; and drought mitigation plans that reduce the most serious impacts. The paper concludes with general recommendations that would benefit all sectors: improving the reliability of seasonal climate forecasts and increasing their use could improve decision making for water management; establishing an automated weather station network could provide end users with near-real time data to improve decision-making; altering operating procedures for water reservoir management and augmenting water storage capacity of surface and subsurface systems could improve drought coping capacity; improving information delivery systems and providing technical assistance could improve decision making by government officials, agricultural producers, and water managers during droughts and help create the necessary infrastructure; and improving water conservation practices for domestic and agricultural sectors during drought and non-drought periods and monitoring the effects of drought on water quality for both surface and groundwater supplies would help to mitigate risks overall.