This publication provides a basic roadmap for mainstreaming drought risk management into development planning and programming at different levels. It suggests and outlines the steps to define drought risks within a given context. It also presents a methodology for translating risk assessments and matrices into specific policy measures, planning instruments and measurable interventions.

The overall purpose of this Primer is to provide a basic roadmap for mainstreaming drought risk management (DRM) into development planning and programming at different levels. It suggests and outlines a stepwise approach to define the drought risks within a given context. It also presents a methodology fortranslating the risk assessments and metrics into specific policy measures, planning instruments and measurable interventions.

Of all the other eco-regions, drylands are considered to be most prone to drought. Drylands are defined as the areas that have arid, semi-arid and dry and sub-humid climates. Depending on the term's definition and criteria, drylands cover 34.9 per cent (United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification; UNCCD) to 44.6 per cent (United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity, UNCBD) of the earth’s surface. Most dryland populations live in developing countries, and they are often among the world’s poorest. DRM is of vital importance in these eco-regions, given their high exposure to erratic weather and their fragile resource base.