Current Droughts: Context and Need for National Drought Policies

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1 WMO World Meteorological Organization Working together in weather, climate and water Current Droughts: Context and Need for National Drought Policies Mannava Sivakumar Director Climate Prediction and Adaptation Branch WMO: Climate and Water

2 Presentation Introduction Droughts in 2011 Need for National Drought Guiding Principles and Goals of National Drought Need for High Level Meeting on National Drought (HMNDP) Suggested steps for the organization of HMNDP Conclusions 2 2

3 Socio-economic Impacts of Climate-Related Extremes on the Rise! Hazard intensity and frequency increasing linked to climate variability and change! Energy Aral Sea Water Resource Management Transportation Intensity Strong Wind People Agriculture Urban areas Heavy rainfall / Flood Vulnerability and exposure on the rise! Drought Heatwaves Need for Pro-active Risk Management Frequency

4 East Africa endures Worst Drought in 60 years 10 million people are at risk after the worst drought in the region in decades hit large areas of Somalia, Ethiopia, Djibouti and Kenya. Two consecutive below-average rainfall seasons have resulted in failed harvests, depletion of grazing resources and significant livestock mortality in the Horn of Africa region. Cattle and sheep are dying at higher rates than usual, reaching up to 60% of mortality in some areas. Urgent help is needed to avert a famine in the Horn of Africa. Baroness Amos - UN USG 4

5 Drought in Hubei Province in China A severe drought which has lasted for five months since January 2011 along the Yangtze River region in central China has rendered nearly 1,400 reservoirs in Hubei Province temporarily unusable, devastated farm fields and made drinking water scarce. The drought had left 315,000 people and 97,300 head of livestock in Hubei short of drinking water, and more than two million acres of farmland had been affected. 5

6 Drought rated as Texas' 3rd worst Eight-month dry spell harshest in modern history October through May in Texas was the driest eight-month stretch the state has experienced in the state s modern history. Houston has received only 1.5 inches in three months just 15 percent of its normal amount and less than some parts of the Sahara desert get during the same period of time. The impact of the drought on agriculture in Texas is approaching $1.5 billion. Texas livestock producers are facing the biggest losses with $1.2 billion of the total due to increased feeding costs and lost value of wheat pasture grazing. 6

7 Drought in England and Wales Driest spring on record in South East and Central Southern England and the driest across England and Wales since 1990 with 45 percent of the long-term average rainfall for March, April and May. Kent received as much rain (4 mm) in May as Timbuktu,Mali. Manchester has more sunshine than Marbella. Soils in southern England are drier than those in Egypt. 7

8 UN warns of food riots in developing world as drought pushes up prices European dry spell and commodities speculation combine to push up average cereal costs by 71% to record levels. The average global price of cereals jumped by 71% to a new record in the year to April, more than three times higher than a decade ago, according to latest UN figures, prompting its Food and Agriculture Organisation to warn that Europe faces a pivotal few weeks. 8 8

9 Need for National Drought Given the current concerns with climate change, increasing frequency and intensity of droughts with the resulting impacts on many sectors, in particular food and water, the time is ripe for nations to move forward with the development of a national drought policy. 9 9

10 Need for National Drought (2) In the absence of a coordinated national policy that focuses on effective emergency response systems including monitoring and early warning, impact assessment, and planning and risk management strategies to cope with the effects of drought on society and the environment, crisis or reactive management generally typifies the response of national governments around the world to drought emergencies

11 Early Warning Systems Require Coordination Across Many Levels and Agencies National to local disaster risk reduction plans, legislation and coordination mechanisms

12 Need for National Drought (3) Lack of a clear national drought policy implies that governments at the state, local and community levels must deal individually with each national agency involved with drought assistance. Although at the national level, governments play a major role in drought response, seldom does a single agency has the authority to lead or coordinate drought management and response. There is an urgent need for a coordinated national drought policy to develop proactive mitigation measures, adaptation strategies and a safety net of emergency response actions that can be effectively implemented at all levels through the cooperation of agencies at the national level

13 Guiding Principles Favor preparedness over insurance, insurance over emergency relief, and local incentives over government regulation. Research priorities should be set based on the potential of the research results to mitigate and overcome the drought impacts in the particular region and for the particular sectors of concern. Thus, research must address the local needs. It is essential to coordinate the delivery of services at the national level through effective collaboration with all appropriate entities to ensure that all partnerships are fully established. Cooperation among all agencies, institutions and people is essential to its implementation

14 Goals of National Drought (1) Proactive mitigation and planning measures, risk management, public outreach and resource stewardship as key elements of effective national drought policy. Greater collaboration to enhance the national/regional/ global observation network and information delivery system to improve public understanding of and preparedness for drought. Incorporation of comprehensive governmental and private insurance and financial strategies into drought preparedness plans

15 Goals of National Drought (2) Recognition of a safety net of emergency relief based on sound stewardship of natural resources and self-help at diverse governance levels. Coordination of drought programs and response in an effective, efficient and customer-oriented manner

16 Why a Compendium on Drought? Since the National Drought for any given country will depend very much on the local circumstances and priorities, it is important that the guidance on national drought policy to any government should not be prescriptive. Instead, a Compendium of Desirable Elements in a National Drought can be compiled. All countries around the world will be encouraged to adopt the elements that will be appropriate to their local circumstances and national priorities and design their own national drought policies. A template for National Drought Policies could be included to guide the formulation of individual national drought policies

17 Need for a High Level Meeting on National Drought (HMNDP) Despite the repeated occurrences of droughts throughout human history and the large impacts on different socioeconomic sectors, no concerted efforts have ever been made to initiate a dialogue on the formulation and adoption of national drought policies. Amongst all the countries in the world, only Australia has a national drought policy which provides a clear description of when and how communities affected by droughts could seek drought relief under a legal framework

18 Need for a HMNDP (2) HMNDP could ensure that government actions transcend far beyond the conventional reactive approaches. In fact, it has been demonstrated traditional drought assistance or relief programs actually result in less self-reliance and more dependence on governments, increasing the vulnerability of sectors to future drought events. If more acceptable results are to be achieved while dealing with droughts, a new approach should be taken and new attitude adopted in dealing with droughts

19 Need for a HMNDP (3) A high level meeting could help develop such a new approach through developing a common understanding of the issues involved, discussing the different approaches that could be incorporated into a national drought policy and finally establishing a framework of a national drought policy that could help all the nations around the world

20 Suggested Steps for Organization of HMNDP Seek the approval of the WMO Congress for this proposal (May 2011 Congress already endorsed the proposal). Develop a Compendium on National Drought through an Expert Meeting (July 2011 Washington DC) followed by meeting of the HMNDP International Organizing Committee (HIOC) (Sep 2011). Organize a Symposium on Integrated Drought Information System (SIDIS) and refine the Compendium further (Nov 2011). Engage diplomatic missions in Geneva to seek their comments on the Compendium (Feb 2012); get comments from capitals (April 2012); revise the concept note and organize first meeting with missions (June 2012)

21 Suggested Steps for Organization of HMNDP (2) Organize second meeting of HIOC to discuss and finalize programme for HMNDP (July 2012) Organize second meeting with missions (Sep 2012), get their final endorsement of the revised Compendium and programme for HMNDP. Organize the HMNDP (March 2013)

22 Conclusions Given the current concerns with the increasing frequency and magnitude of droughts, the time is now ripe for the formulation of effective national drought policies. A compendium on national drought policies and consultations with governments ahead of HMNDP could help initiate a global debate for quick formulation and adoption of national drought policies. Organization of the HMNDP could provide an opportunity for common dialogue and a consensus inter-governmental declaration endorsing the adoption of national drought policies

23 Thank You WORLD METEOROLOGICAL ORGANIZATION 23