13 June 2012: The High-level Meeting on National Drought Policy (HMNDP), to be held in Geneva, Switzerland, in March 2013, was the topic of a side event held during the Third Meeting of the Preparatory Committee (PrepCom III) for the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD, or Rio+20), on 13 June 2012.

The side event was organized by the World Meterological Organization (WMO), the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO), the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR), and the Center for Global Environmental Education (CGEE).

Sergio Zelaya, UNCCD, highlighted UNCCD’s efforts to develop policy tools to mitigate drought impacts, and identified challenges for drought mitigation policy, including shifting patterns of drought associated with climate change, increased drought severity and heightened risks of communal violence, civil war, and other forms of civil unrest.

Mannava Sivakumar, WMO, noted that while drought is the most significant natural disaster, only Australia has a national drought policy in place. He emphasized the need for legally-binding national drought policies to advance drought preparation and response.

Antonio Magalhães, CGEE, described how the impacts of drought have grown with environmental degradation over the last century, but said social responses have themselves grown in effectiveness and complexity. Magalhães emphasized that weak regional development institutions and low levels of federal attention are needed to reduce economic and social vulnerability to drought.

Don Wilhite, University of Nebraska, outlined the programme for the HMNDP, which will focus on: developing dialogue between scientists and practitioners; advancing scientific discussions on drought prediction, preparedness, mitigation, and response; and drafting high-level ministerial recommendations on drought policy.

An interactive panel session followed the presentations. In the ensuing discussion, participants addressed inter-sectoral and cross-agency collaboration, and the need for common methodologies on improved drought monitoring. [ENBOTS Coverage]