8 October 2012: The UN Development Programme (UNDP) network on Capacity Building for Sustainable Water Resources Management (Cap-Net) has announced the development of a capacity building programme on drought management in response to the fact that drought is estimated to have caused over 11 million deaths since 1900.

The purpose of the programme is to support water resource managers in the integration of drought management within water planning and management. In doing so, the programme is intended to move drought management from a crisis response to a risk management approach through the effective management of water supplies.

The initial training materials developed through the programme were tested at a training of trainers in September and will soon be finalized and made available on the Cap-Net site.

To deliver the programme, Cap-Net is partnering with the SaciWATERs-CapNet Network (SCaN) in Asia, Red Mexicana de Recursos Hídricos (MexCap-Net) in Latin America, and Water Capacity Building Network (WaterCap) in Africa, the Irrigation Technology Center (ITC) and the UN Environment Programme Centre for Water and Envrionment (UNEP-DHI). [Cap-Net Press Release]