Climate change-induced droughts are being experienced by over half of the world's population. A study on droughts and their catastrophic effects, spanning from food security to energy, to migrations and women's life.

The cry is global. About 4 billion people (out of 7.8 billion human beings) now experience severe water shortages for at least one month a year. More and more people (around 700million) suffer longer periods of drought than seventy years ago, and the global population affected by extreme drought is set to increase from 3% to 8%.

Adding to this bleak picture are economic issues. Agriculture, for example, suffers enormously from the effects of drought. According to WWF findings, globally, between 1983 and 2009, about three quarters of global cropland (about 454 million hectares) suffered drought-induced yield losses, with cumulative production losses of USD 166 billion. Also the NGO, which on the occasion of World Desertification and Drought Day (17 June) published its own in-depth study, revealed that current global thermoelectric and hydroelectric production is also negatively affected by the phenomenon. We are talking here about a 4 to 5 per cent reduction in installation utilisation rates during drought years compared to long-term average values since the 1980s.

According to UNCCD’s latest Drought in Numbers report, the frequency and severity of droughts have increased by 29% since 2000. By 2050, drylands could cover between 50 and 60 per cent of the entire earth, with about three quarters of the world’s population living in these areas under severe water scarcity conditions.
Good practices for prevention
Despite the dramatic picture of drought and desertification in which the planet finds itself, according to the UNCCD some new drought risk mitigation measures are being developed by the UN Convention and the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). These practices show that drought resilience can be increased, through ‘early warning, increased inter-agency cooperation and a mix of traditional knowledge and innovative approaches’.

Here are some examples. In Brazil, Ethiopia and Tunisia, a combination of water harvesting and sustainable land management practices is being used ‘to reduce the impact of drought among vulnerable populations’. There are also signs of progress in the most vulnerable regions, such as in the Sahel, where there is an institution that “brings together the full range of stakeholders, from producer associations to decision-makers, who benefit from the scientific and technological capacities provided by regional organisations.”

India, on the other hand, has adopted an approach described as ‘even more comprehensive’ that includes drought management as part of the national disaster management plan and involves various institutions at national, state and local levels: it is based on early action that starts with the management of the country’s water system, including rainwater, rivers and aquifers.

In Central America’s so-called Corredor Seco, which stretches across Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and parts of Costa Rica and Panama, community emergency funds are used to support drought-stricken farmers without access to formal systems financing and insurance. More than 60 per cent of the population, according to the UN Convention, depends on the production of staple grains for their livelihoods, and in three out of five harvest cycles small farmers suffer significant losses.

The US has also developed ‘some of the most sophisticated and advanced drought monitoring and response mechanisms that could benefit and accelerate the development of collaborative action at the global level’.