International Conference on Drought Management Strategies in Arid and Semi-Arid Regions

The frequency of natural disasters between 1990 and 2006,  particularly water-related disasters, has increased markedly  – as has the estimated economic damage they cause.  Extreme events have also become more frequent. Between 1900 and March 2007, 16301 disaster events were recorded  throughout the world – 6.27 billion people were affected;  fatalities were more than 37.58 million and the estimated  economic damage was more than US$1,790 billion. In terms  of fatalities and the number of people affected, Asia is the  region, most vulnerable to water-related disasters, accounting for more than 45% of fatalities and more than  90% of the people affected by disasters.  During the period 1900 to 2006, a total of 836 droughts were  reported globally in the Emergency Disasters Database,  killing more than 1 million people, affecting more than 752  million and inflicting more than US$ 61 million of damage.  

These facts simply mean that more must be done to mitigate  natural disasters – particularly future water-related disasters,  given the catalyzing effect of climate change.  In this ration today’s world, needs a global movement to face  and encounter with the challenges of natural disasters  related to water, especially droughts, so that through  systematic measures carried out by governments at national  level and integrating them with the activities of international  governmental and non-governmental organizations and  entities, effective and coordinated action plans could be  prepared.

This global movement through mobilizing political wills and resources can create effective measures in order to  predict and produce preparedness and mitigation plans at  global scale.

Objectives:

The objectives of this Conference are: 

a) To introduce the new scientific and technological concepts and tools to be used in drought management plans in thecontext of agriculture, urban supply, and watermanagement, highlighting the successful experiences based on preparedness and risk-based management as a critical approach to mitigate the impacts associated with drought in societies with different vulnerabilities;  
b) To  share and exchange the latest knowledge and experience in the field of Drought management mitigation strategies; 
c) To introduce scientific and technological innovations including the International Drought Initiatives. 
d) Support the scientific researches in drought management

Conference Themes:

a) Water Development in Drought Prone Areas with Scarce Water Resources 
b) Climate Change and its Impacts on Water Resources  
c) International and Regional Cooperation for Drought Mitigation 
d) Impacts of Drought on Water Resources 
e) Drought Monitoring, Planning and Management Application of Remote Sensing and GIS in Drought 
g) Drought Assessment, Environmental economic Impacts 

Contact information	• Eng. Hamad Al Hatmi, Director General of Water Resources Assessment, • Eng. Rashid Al Abri, Director Water Resources Monitoring Department Ministry of Regional Municipalities and Water Resources, Oman P.O.Box 2575, Ruwi, The Sultanate of Oman (email: ddgwrw@mrmwr.gov.om) Phone: +968 24 698334, +00968 24 698089 Fax: +968 24 698623
Event type	Conference
File link	http://www.mrmwr.gov.om/Library/Files/dmsas.pdf
File link copy	dmsas.pdf (PDF, 141 Kb)
Source	Ministry of Regional Municipalities and Water Resources, Sultanate of Oman
Subject(s)	AGRICULTURE , DRINKING WATER , HYDRAULICS - HYDROLOGY , INFORMATION - COMPUTER SCIENCES , METHTODOLOGY - STATISTICS - DECISION AID , NATURAL MEDIUM , POLICY-WATER POLICY AND WATER MANAGEMENT , RISKS AND CLIMATOLOGY , WATER DEMAND
Relation	http://www.semide.net/topics/WaterScarcity
Geographical coverage	Oman,
Address	Muscat - Sultanate of Oman
Organizer	Ministry of Regional Municipalities and Water Resources, Sultanate of Oman - Regional Centre on Urban Water Management - Tehran
Target audience	International
Period	[11/12/2011 - 14/12/2011]
Status	Confirmed
Working language(s)	ARABIC , ENGLISH