All publications and documents

This drought vulnerability assessment for SADC uses the IPCC framework to assess the distribution of drought hazard and social and biophysical vulnerability to those hazards in order to identify drought vulnerability and risk hotspots. The assessment reveals that most of the SADC countries are experiencing an increasing trend in terms of drought severity, albeit with differing rates of…

There are valuable lessons to be learned from drought risk management around the world for the SADC region. Nations and regional governments must improve their drought monitoring and early warning systems. A better drought plan must consider risk assessments at all levels, from the community level to the regional level, to achieve better vulnerability and risk/impact assessments at the national…

National drought plans are important instruments to support the transition to proactive drought management. Over 70 countries have developed national drought plans under the Drought Initiative of the UNCCD. This new publication from FAO draws on the results of the assessment of the validated and published plans. It contributes to multiple objectives, including the presentation of a…

The fifteenth session of the Conference of the Parties (COP15) of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) took place from 9 to 20 May 2022 in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. The theme of COP15 was Land. Life. Legacy: From scarcity to prosperity. COP15 discussed sustainable solutions for land restoration and drought resilience, with a strong focus…

Drought is a complex phenomenon: its causes are varied, and it has both direct and indirect impacts on food security, human well-being and ecosystem health. Episodes of drought that occur where land has become degraded can spur human migration and even civil unrest. The need to increase water security is vitally important, something achievable by addressing the links and interactions among water…