High Level Meeting n Natinal Drught Plicy (HMNDP) CICG, Geneva 11-15 March 2013 Plicy Dcument: Natinal Drught Management Plicy United Natins Cnventin t Cmbat Desertificatin (UNCCD) Fd and Agriculture Organizatin f the United Natins (FAO) Wrld Meterlgical Organizatin (WMO) February 2012
Plicy Dcument Natinal Drught Management Plicy Acknwledging that drughts have caused human suffering since the beginning f man-kind; Nting that drught is a scurge that is still with us as demnstrated by the drught in the Hrn f Africa (2011) and in the Sahel (2012); Further nting that drughthas majr implicatins in terms f human lives lst and, increasingly, in terms f shrt term and lng term ecnmic lsses; Als nting that climate change is likely t shift the patterns f drughts and pssibly increase the frequency and severity f extreme events thus further increasing risk f human and ecnmic lsses; Reminding that recent research demnstrates that drughts increase the likelihd f cmmunal vilence, civil wars r even wars between natins; Cnsidering that these csts in human suffering is largely preventable thrugh apprpriate plicies; This dcument sets ut t utline the gals and essential elements f natinal drught management plicies (NDMPs) It is t be nted that such NDMPs wuld cmplement ther natinal and internatinal plicies such as: UNCCD Natinal Actin Plans, Disaster Risk and Reductin Management plicies, Natinal Climate Change Adaptatin plicies and plans as well as Integrated Sil and Water Cnservatin Management practices, plicies and plans and in ding s wuld enhance fd security, reduce the vulnerability f the prer sectins f sciety and prmte grwth. Gals fr a Natinal Drught Management Plicy (NDMP) The Overarching theme fr NDMP is Prmting natinal drught plicies t reduce scietal vulnerability t drughts NDMP shuld establish a clear set f principles r perating guidelines t gvern the management f drught and its impacts. The plicy shuld be cnsistent and equitable fr all regins, ppulatin grups, and ecnmic sectrs and cnsistent with the gals f sustainable develpment. Natinal Drught Management Plicy culd be centered arund five gals: 1) Practive mitigatin and planning measures, risk management, public utreach and resurce stewardship as key elements f effective natinal drught plicy. 2) Greater cllabratin t enhance the natinal/reginal/glbal bservatin netwrk and infrmatin delivery system t imprve public understanding f and preparedness fr drught. 3) Incrpratin f cmprehensive gvernmental and private insurance and financial strategies int drught preparedness plans.
4) Recgnitin f a safety net f emergency relief based n sund stewardship f natural resurces and self-help at diverse gvernance levels. 5) Link t drught prgrams and ther related plicies and respnse in an effective, efficient and custmer-riented manner. Essential elements f the NDMP include the fllwing: a) Prmting Standard Appraches t Vulnerability and Impact Assessment Understand the natural prcesses and human activities that cntribute t vulnerability and cmmunity resilience and hw these will be integrated t infrm risk reductin and management. - Address the gaps in knwledge, methdlgies and types f infrmatin that are preventing the effective applicatin f these methdlgies. A key gal is the enablement f affected ppulatins. - Wrk with cmmunities facing hazards t manage their wn envirnments mre respnsibly and equitably ver the lng term by jining in a glbal structure that supprts infrmed, respnsible, systematic actins t imprve lcal cnditins in vulnerable regins. - Encurage gvernments departments and institutins, bth public and private, t supprt, prvide incentives, crdinate data and decisin supprt, and legitimize successful appraches t increasing capacity and actin Characterize drught-related impacts and carry ut vulnerability mapping with due cnsideratin t vulnerable grups and cmmunities Strengthen crss-sectrial crdinatin f the assessment f drught vulnerability and impacts and partnerships amng state, academia and the private sectr fr cnducting impacts assessments. Develp criteria t weigh the imprtance drught impacts and vulnerability factrs, and t identify high-leverage mitigatin actins. b) Implementing Effective Drught Mnitring and Early Warning Systems Establish and supprt a cmprehensive and effective integrated drught mnitring system at the cuntry level Assess the adequacy f netwrks, in particular, meterlgical, hydrlgical and eclgical netwrks fr drught mnitring and data quality. Examine the current arrangements and prcedures fr the cllectin and analysis f data and assure crdinatin between many agencies and ministries at the different administrative levels. Develp useful end prducts, infrmatin r decisin-supprt tls and ensure their timely delivery t the end users.
Develp and mainstream effectiveness f Early Warning Infrmatin Systems that include warning f ptential impacts n livelihds. Systematically mnitr and recrd lcal drught impacts in real time. Measure and cntrl data quality; and Ensure that drught EWS infrmatin systems are designed t reach (and can be used by) lcal cmmunities. Develp adequate linkages between early warning and relief and respnse. c) Enhancing Preparedness and mitigatin actins Develp, test and imprve methdlgies and measure prgress in reducing vulnerability and enhancing cmmunity capacity e.g., drught risk management, cst-effectiveness f methdlgies and analyses, and scietal impacts f catastrphic events. Enable affected ppulatins thrugh supprt frm gvernments and institutins, prvisin f incentives, and legitimizatin f successful appraches t increasing capacity and actin at the lcal level. Develp mitigatin actins at multiple time scales. Use drught impact recrds t develp prbabilistic drught-risk assessments and facilitate practive planning and drught risk management. Cnsider the ability f farmers t receive and use infrmatin Develp drught respnse measures that reinfrce the cncept f risk management as a key element f a natinal drught plicy while prmting envirnmental stewardship. Identify incentives that culd be prvided t vulnerable sectrs/grups t enhance the adptin f risk-based management measures in supprt f a natinal drught plicy. Strengthen research effrts t prmte sustainable develpment and increase cmmunity resilience t drught d) Implementing Emergency respnse and relief measures that reinfrce natinal drught plicy gals Identify emergency measures that will reduce the impact f current drught while reducing vulnerability t future ccurrences Ensure that the relief reaches affected cmmunities/sectrs in a timely fashin Link drught relief t preparedness and mitigatin actins
Thrugh (hw) a) Stakehlder identificatin f risks and mitigatin measures b) Cllectin and analyzing infrmatin c) Evidence based prcesses fr risks assessment and priritizatin f mitigatin measures d) Identificatin f institutinal bttlenecks and arrangements e) Mainstreaming - Systems fr linking measures t existing plicies and institutins ----------------------