Three out of four people could be affected by droughts around the world in 2050despite which many countries and sectors are not preparing for them with adequate actions, policies, investments and incentives.
This was warned this Monday by the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) coinciding with the opening day of the 16th desertification summit (COP16)which will be held until December 13 in Riyadh (Saudi Arabia).
This UN convention and the Joint Research Center, belonging to the European Commission, launched this Monday the ‘World Atlas of Droughts’, which is the most complete publication on your risks and solutions.
«A new normal around the world»
The UNCCD pointed out that droughts are “a new normal throughout the world.” The Atlas describes the systemic nature of drought risks through dozens of maps, infographics and case studies. It illustrates how their risks are interconnected across sectors such as energy, agriculture, river transport and international trade, and how they can trigger knock-on effects, fueling inequalities and conflict and threatening public health.
Co-produced with the Cima Research Foundation (Italy), the Free University of Amsterdam (The Netherlands) and the United Nations University Institute for Environment and Human Security (Germany), its publication occurred while 196 countries and the EU They negotiate in Riyadh how to increase humanity’s resilience to more severe droughts.
«The World Drought Atlas challenges governments, business leaders and policy makers at all levels to radically rethink the way they make decisions and manage drought risk», according to Ibrahim Thiaw, executive secretary of the UNCCD.
Thiaw called on delegates in Riyadh to “take seriously” the conclusions of the Atlas and noted that these days in Riyadh “could change the course of history towards drought resilience.”
The Atlas highlights the need for national drought plans and international cooperation to keep communities, economies and ecosystems afloat in the face of more severe phenomena. Additionally, it provides guidance for proactive and forward-looking drought management and adaptation across all sectors and levels of governance.
Impacts
The Atlas explains how worsening drought risks are linked to human activities and delves into their impacts in five key areas: yeswater supply, agriculture, hydroelectric energy, inland navigation and ecosystems.
Droughts can reduce hydropower generation, leading to higher energy prices or power outages, and can disrupt international trade due to low water levels that make transportation on inland waterways difficult, as occurred in the Panama Canal.
In terms of nature, the Atlas notes that while droughts pose a threat to ecosystems, greater biodiversity can mitigate their impacts, meaning that promoting biodiversity is important for building resilience to drought and vice versa.
The nexus between food, land and water is another of the main focuses of the Atlas, since agriculture accounts for around 70% of the world’s freshwater use and is also severely affected by drought.
The publication analyzes how agricultural products that reach plates through global supply chains can worsen the effects of droughts and create water stress in the countries where they are produced through virtual water transfers. Smallholder farmers and marginalized groups are particularly vulnerable.
The Atlas also shows how drought risks are interconnected and why their effects extend to different sectors. For example, countries that rely on hydropower to generate electricity can experience power outages during droughts. If this happens during a heat wave, it can lead to hospitalizations and deaths as people cannot use fans or air conditioning to cool their homes.
Lessons
The Atlas presents 21 case studies from around the world, highlighting that No country, regardless of size, GDP or latitude, is immune to drought and everyone can better prepare for it.
For example, the publication highlights the impacts and lessons learned from recent droughts in the Great Plains (United States), the Yangtze River Basin (China), and the city of Barcelona, and explores the impacts of drought in the Dry Corridor Central America, the Indian subcontinent and the Horn of Africa.
Droughts have increased by 29% since 2000 due to climate change and unsustainable management of water and land resources. The UN considers man-made droughts to be a global emergency, but notes that their risks can be addressed with appropriate measures, policies and investments.
Measures
The Atlas describes measures and pathways to manage, reduce and adapt to systemic drought risks; highlights the collateral benefits of these actions for different sectors and shows best practices from different regions.
The highlighted measures are divided into three categories: governance (e.g. early warning systems, microinsurance for small farmers, pricing schemes for water use), land use management (land restoration and agroforestry) and water supply and use management (wastewater reuse, managed groundwater recharge and conservation).
«We already have the knowledge and tools to increase our resilience to more severe droughts. It is now our collective responsibility, and in our best interest, to take action for a drought-resilient future,” according to Hugo Morán, Spain’s Secretary of State for the Environment, who co-chairs the International Drought Resilience Alliance (IDRA). for its acronym in English) together with Senegal.
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