A key factor in mitigating the adverse effects of drought

Desertification and droughts pose a serious threat to the livelihoods of millions of people in the arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas. Appropriate management of water resources represents a key factor in mitigating the adverse effects of drought as well as to combat land degradation which is too often associated with inadequate water management, particularly in irrigated agriculture. The UNCCD has recognised the critical role of water resources management in the battle against desertification and the exacerbated impacts of drought.

Achieving the objective of the Convention will involve long-term integrated strategies that focus simultaneously, in affected areas, on improved productivity of land, and the rehabilitation, conservation and sustainable management of land and water resources, leading to improved living conditions, in particular at the community level (Article 2). The importance of the sustainable use of water resources is also underlined in the Articles 3, 4, 17 of the Convention.

At the regional level, important work has been carried out within the framework of the Thematic Programme Network 4 (TPN-4) in Asia (Water Resources Management for Agriculture in Arid, Semi-arid And Subhumid Areas), the TPN-1 in Africa (Integrated management of international river, lake and hydro-geological basins) and TPN-3 in Latin America and the Caribbean (Integrated water management).