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United Nations launches concerted push for effective drought policies: Need to focus on building resilience and reducing risks
Droughts cause the deaths and displacement of more people than cyclones, floods and earthquakes combined, making them the world’s most destructive natural hazard. Yet while droughts are expected to increase in frequency, area and intensity due to climate change, effective drought management policies are missing in most parts of the world. Three United Nations institutions have now joined forces to promote the development and adoption of practical and proactive policies at the national level to make drought-prone countries more resilient.
The World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) and other partners will hold a High-Level Meeting on National Drought Policy on 11-15 March 2013 in Geneva to focus on drought preparedness and management policies.
“Since time immemorial, drought has been a feature of the natural variability of our climate,” said WMO Secretary-General Michel Jarraud. “The frequency, intensity, and duration of droughts are expected to rise in several parts of the world as a result of climate change, with an increasing human and economic toll. We simply cannot afford to continue in a piecemeal, crisis-driven mode. We have the knowledge and experience to reduce the impact of drought. What we need now is the policy framework and action on the ground.”
“Despite being predictable, drought is the most costly and the deadliest disaster of our time. The decision to mitigate drought is ultimately political. Governments of all drought-prone countries need to adopt, mainstream and operationalize national drought policies, based on the principles of early warning, preparedness and risk management,” said UNCCD Executive Secretary Luc Gnacadja.
“The cost of crisis management far exceeds that of risk management and early action and we should not wait until the next drought, causing famine and claiming human lives.” “More extreme and frequent droughts resulting from climate change are having devastating food security impacts, especially in the most vulnerable regions of the world,” said FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva. “To buck this trend, we must build resilient, ‘drought-resistant’ communities.
This means not simply reacting after the rains fail, but investing over the long-term, so that when drought does hit, people and food systems can weather the blow.” The High-Level Meeting on National Drought Policy brings together world leaders, government decision-makers, development agencies, and leading scientists and researchers. Government leaders include His Excellency Issoufou Mahamadou, President of the Republic of Niger, whose country has been repeatedly hit by devastating droughts, most recently in 2011-2012.
The conference is open to the media. Full details of the programme are available at: http://www.hmndp.org/
| Contact information |
Clare Nullis WMO Communications and Public Affairs / Wagaki Mwangi, UNCCD Public Information and Media Officer / Kimberly Sullivan, Communication and Publications Officer, Natural Resources Department, Office of Assistant Director-General, FAO
(email: cnullis@wmo.int ; wmwangi@unccd.int ; kimberly.sullivan@fao.org) Phone: +(41 22) 730 8478; 41-79) 7091397 (cell) / +49-228-815-2820 / +39 0657055023 |
|---|---|
| News type | Inbrief |
| File link |
http://www.hmndp.org/ |
| File link local |
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| Source of information | The World Meteorological Organization is the United Nations System’s authoritative voice on Weather, Climate and Water |
| Keyword(s) | drought, desertification |
| Subject(s) | AGRICULTURE , DRINKING WATER , ENERGY , FINANCE-ECONOMY , HYDRAULICS - HYDROLOGY , INFORMATION - COMPUTER SCIENCES , MEASUREMENTS AND INSTRUMENTATION , METHTODOLOGY - STATISTICS - DECISION AID , NATURAL MEDIUM , POLICY-WATER POLICY AND WATER MANAGEMENT , PREVENTION AND NUISANCES POLLUTION , RISKS AND CLIMATOLOGY , WATER DEMAND |
| Relation | http://www.wmo.int/webcast/hmndp/index_en.html |
| Geographical coverage | Switzerland, |
| News date | 11/03/2013 |
| Working language(s) | ARABIC , ENGLISH , FRENCH , SPANISH |
