The Global Water Partnership (GWP) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) today launched a joint Integrated Drought Management Programme (IDMP) to help countries build drought resilience.
The wider scope of IDMP is to build climate resilience, reduce economic and social losses, and alleviate poverty in drought-affected regions of the world through an integrated approach to drought management. The GWP said this cuts across sectoral, disciplinary, and institutional jurisdictions and is responsive to specific regional and national needs and requirements.
The central objective of IDMP is: “To support stakeholders at all levels by providing policy and management guidance and by sharing scientific information, knowledge and best practices for Integrated Drought Management.”
“Whether because of climate variability or climate change, droughts have a severe impact on water availability and quality, agricultural and energy production, and ecosystem health,” said GWP executive secretary Dr Ania Grobicki. “There is an urgent need to develop better drought monitoring and management systems, and for countries to have frameworks in place to manage drought risks through an integrated approach.”
The GWP added: “The increase in catastrophic events such as droughts and floods will impact lives, livelihoods, land values, and investment incentives, especially in vulnerable areas inhabited by poorer populations."
Dr Grobicki said: “Drought and water scarcity are not only a result of climate change and variability but often poor water resources management. This new programme will contribute to national efforts for poverty alleviation through an integrated approach – cutting across sectoral, disciplinary, and institutional jurisdictions – to drought management.”
More information on the IDMP can be found here.
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