With only two percent of the world’s renewable water resources, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) is one of the driest regions in the world and home to 12 of the world’s most water-scarce countries. Increasing temperatures and evapotranspiration rates, in addition to decreases in precipitation across the region, are making water resources even more scarce and exacerbating challenges to water and food security. Droughts are becoming more frequent and severe, spreading over larger areas, and jeopardizing the livelihoods of millions of people.

As part of its MENAdrought project, the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) is working with the governments of Jordan, Lebanon and Morocco to develop drought action plans (DAPs) as part of its broader efforts to support them to prepare for, mitigate, and respond to the worst impacts of drought. The DAPs identify actions to reduce drought risk, and their development included a process to identify and analyze the root causes of specific drought impacts.