Drought Risk Management A Strategic Approach

Over the last three decades drought episodes have resulted in severe social problems in Mediterranean countries, receiving broad attention from the international scientific and policy communities. The experiences in the development and implementation of drought management plans highlight the success and challenges of coping with drought for societies with different vulnerabilities and emphasize risk-based drought management as a critical approach to mitigate the impacts associated to drought-induced water shortages. Based on these experiences and the current methods for evaluating risk, the book synthesises guidelines for drought management that link science and policy and that can be applied to other regions. The book comprises a collection of papers divided into four sections that appeal to a broad audience. First, the social and hydrological context of Mediterranean countries is presented, discussing the interactions that have resulted in the complex institutional framework, and highlighting the importance of stakeholder involvement and awareness building for successful drought management. This section emphasises the role of organizations, institutions, and civil stakeholders involved in drought preparedness and mitigation and/or on water management for designing effective risk based strategies that mitigate the effects of drought in agriculture and water supply systems. Second, the book presents an academic approach to risk evaluation, including characterization of drought episodes, development of indicators of risk in hydrological and agricultural systems, and analysis of the role of economic instruments and groundwater for risk mitigation. This section finalises with the description of an integrated method for evaluating social vulnerability based on indicators that include the capacity to anticipate, cope, and respond to drought. The third section includes a collection of case studies that include the description of effective measures taken in the past. These case studies provide the context for developing demand driven guidelines that may be applied to other regions. The authors of these chapters can be viewed as stakeholders in drought management, since they represent a broad range of sectors and institutions from Mediterranean European and North African countries. The topics addressed have implications for the international policy community interested in disaster mitigation, agricultural policy, and development. Finally a synthesis of the management actions is presented in four chapters. Monitoring and preparedness planning is the essential first step for moving from disaster to risk management in response to drought. The management actions related to agriculture and water supply systems are presented in two different chapters but with a common conceptual framework based on the use of drought indicators for evaluating the levels of drought risk (pre-alert, alert, and emergency), that allow establishing linkages between science and policy. The final chapter discuses the lessons learned and application to other regions.

Drought is a complex natural hazard, and the uncertainties surrounding its onset and impacts make investment decisions inherently difficult. On the other hand, drought is considered one of the costliest and most destructive natural hazards. With the threat of higher frequency and greater intensity of future drought events due to climate change, the debate in drought management has evolved from whether to implement reactive or proactive drought management approaches – in other words, whether to invest or not in proactive drought actions – to how to invest in proactive drought action. Different and evolving drought events can be mitigated with varying proactive measures, but the best trade-off between efficacy and profitability – be it a financial or an economic profit – must be targeted. The report investigates the broad concept of the economics of drought management, provides a conceptual, two-tier framework for the assessment of proactive and reactive actions, and disseminates case studies for the implementation of the framework in decision-making processes. This report aims to assist decision-makers, policymakers, planners, and national authorities responsible for planning and programming to conduct an exhaustive economic assessment related to drought. With the knowledge gained from the report, a critical step in the drought investment decision-making process can be effectively undertaken.

This book focuses on mega-droughts of the past 20 years. Twelve cases from both developed and developing countries are elaborated in the book. Its intention is to draw lessons from the cases of extremely severe water shortages so that countries and stakeholders can be better prepared for extreme drought events in the future. Several recurrent themes emerge from the diverse case studies and descriptions of programs. For example, most chapters discuss the necessity to move from reactive (compensatory) to preventive policies. This theme has implications for use of insurance in developing countries, e.g. is insurance encouraging investments to help countries avoid disasters or is it acting mostly in a humanitarian way to compensate for losses to help people? Several authors point to the importance of risk assessment and to developing risk based policies for drought. This raises statistical issues of how such assessments of uncertainty and risks are done and how they relate to actual occurrence of events. Most chapters call for more inter-sectoral policies, policies which integrate water resources management approaches and to the necessity of raising public awareness of droughts in times of no drought. The issue of structural versus nonstructural is clear in most cases. While often cast as ‘either/or’ the message that emerges is more one of how do you integrate these approaches. Finally, a few chapters bring to light how prevention is needed for national security as well as water security. In Focus – a book series that showcases the latest accomplishments in water research. Each book focuses on a specialist area with papers from top experts in the field. It aims to be a vehicle for in-depth understanding and inspire further conversations in the sector.

Floods and droughts have an increasing impact on societies worldwide. It is unlikely that the provision of flood protection infrastructure and reservoirs will eliminate this problem, especially as extreme events are expected to increase in probability and magnitude as a result of climate change. For this reason, the focus of water management has shifted to a risk-based approach in recent years; but this also has its limitations. This book examines system robustness as a new perspective on flood and drought risk management. The concept of robustness is familiar from other areas, such as engineering and biology. When a system is robust, it can remain functioning even when some components fail. Areas prone to flooding or drought can be understood as systems, and this book makes the concept of robustness operational by proposing quantifiable criteria. These criteria were tested in two case studies of flooding and two of drought, which demonstrate the applicability of the framework and provide insight into the system characteristics that influence system robustness. The book will contribute to decision-making in flood and drought risk management by providing additional decision criteria, and will be of interest to all those whose work involves the management of disastrous and uncertain flood and drought events.

This volume includes over 30 chapters, written by experts from around the world. It examines numerous management strategies for dealing with drought and scarcity. These strategies include management approaches for different regions, such as coastal, urban, rural, and agricultural areas. It offers multiple strategies for monitoring, assessing, and forcasting drought through the use of remote sensing and GIS tools. It also presents drought mitigation management strategies, such as groundwater management, rainwater harvesting, conservations practices, and more.

Droughts and their management are a serious challenge to water resource professionals. While droughts predominate in arid regions, their frequency and severity in more temperate regions with more abundant rainfall have been on the rise. Drought Management and Planning for Water Resources provides an essential collection of planning and manag