Webinar: Dry, Drier, Driest: Drought Management, Mitigation and Adaptation

Overview

Every year 17 June is observed worldwide as Desertification and Drought Day (the World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought before 2020).

It is an occasion to raise awareness about local, regional and international efforts to combat desertification and manage, mitigate and adapt to drought.

It is also an opportunity to bring home a message of hope: desertification and drought can be effectively tackled if there is collective will and action.

This message is neatly captured in this year’s slogan for the day “Rising up from drought together”.

There are many ways to mitigate and adapt to drought. Land restoration, for example, is one of the sustainable approaches to reducing the impact of drought. Not only is it a way to remedy damage caused to nature by human activity, but it is also a route to economic resilience, social stability and food security.

This thinking is behind a webinar organized by the International Center for Biosaline Agriculture (ICBA) and the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment of the UAE (MoCCaE).

The webinar will serve as a platform for sharing ideas and thoughts on how to manage, mitigate and adapt to the impact of drought and build back better.

Objective

Droughts around the world are becoming more frequent, prolonged and severe. According to a 2022 report by the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, drought frequency and duration has increased by 29 percent around the world since 2000.

Moreover, the global economy lost around 124 billion USD due to drought between 1998 and 2017, with Africa suffering the most from this extreme weather event. The region experienced 134 recorded droughts in the last 100 years.

An estimated 55 million people worldwide are affected by drought every year, and it is the most serious hazard to livestock and crops in nearly every part of the world.

While water scarcity already impacts 40 percent of the world’s population, as many as 700 million people are at risk of being displaced as a result of drought by 2030.

What is more, drought could affect more than 75 percent of the world’s population and 4.8 to 5.7 billion people could live in areas with water shortages for at least one month a year by 2050.

It is, therefore, crucially important to take urgent action and develop and adopt strategies for effective drought management, mitigation and adaptation. Investments, incentives and policies in support of initiatives aimed at tackling drought should be increased.

In line with this year’s slogan for Desertification and Drought Day, this webinar will discuss how drought can be better managed, mitigated and adapted to in different parts of the world.

It will also look at resources, policies and innovations that are necessary for effective drought management, mitigation and adaptation.