The UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), the Economics of Land Degradation (ELD) Initiative, and the UN University Institute for Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH) have made the case for more proactive drought management. The 2024 Economics of Drought report argues that avoided losses, economic benefits, and social and environmental benefits associated with Nature-based Solutions (NbS) can “reverse the destructive spiral of drought.”
Titled, ‘Investing in Nature-based Solutions for Drought Resilience – Proaction Pays,’ the report notes that global economic losses from droughts between 2000 and 2019 are estimated at USD 128 billion. However, at USD 307 billion per year, UNCCD estimates are likely to be more accurate, it warns, with knock-on effects of drought on different sectors escalating these costs.
In contrast, the report cites the estimated costs of implementing countries’ national drought plans, which amount to some USD 210 billion between 2016 and 2030. A nature-positive economy, it argues, could generate as much as USD 10.1 trillion in business value annually and create up to 395 million jobs by 2030. According to the report, tripling investment in NbS up to 2030 could generate 20 million additional jobs.
The report identifies a range of soil and landscape solutions that include: water and land management; restoration and conservation options such as reforestation, agricultural best management practices, grazing management, habitat protection, and water and water ecosystems management; and urban green and green infrastructure.
Among the benefits of NbS for drought resilience – and beyond, the report identifies:
- Reducing drought loss and damage from drought;
- Increasing the income of land and water users and unlocking development potential; and
- Generating broader co-benefits for climate, nature, and sustainable development.
According to the report, NbS can be scaled through five policy enablers that can act as transformative levers: rights and rules; responsibilities; incentives; investments; and information.
Among promising innovations in the evolving landscape of NbS, the report highlights: nature markets; compensation or offsetting policies with regard to NbS, biodiversity, and land; payments for ecosystems services (PES); and repurposing of harmful subsidies.
The report’s main messages and recommendations are:
- NbS to drought include many tried-and-tested sustainable land management practices that offer no-regret options for strengthening resilience;
- Investing in land and water management to reduce drought risk makes economic sense;
- Building drought resilience through NbS requires investment in building capacities of people and institutions;
- NbS to drought may require investment to be leveraged through public-private partnerships (PPPs);
- Investments can be enabled by strengthening evidence and monitoring of the true impact of NbS; and
- Cost-benefit analysis of NbS to drought needs to be further strengthened with improved methodologies and data collection.
The report supports UNCCD Decision 23/COP15 to examine and identify financing needs and opportunities for drought risk reduction and resilience-building activities, including partnerships with the private sector. It was published ahead of the 2024 UN Desertification Conference (UNCCD COP 16), on 3 December. [Publication: Economics of Drought: Investing in Nature-based Solutions for Drought Resilience – Proaction pays] [Publication Landing Page] [UNCCD Press Release]
