Joint Side Event on Drought Policies at National and Regional Levels
On April 19, 2013 Dr. Daniel Tsegai of UNW-DPC presented the joint UN-Water Initiative on “Capacity Development to Support National Drought Management Policies” (NDMP, www.ais.unwater.org/droughtmanagement) at the eleventh session of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification’s (UNCCD) Committee for the Review of the Implementation of the Convention (CRIC 11) in Bonn, Germany. The project is jointly organized by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), UNCCD and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
In this session, WMO, UNCCD and Global Water Partnership (GWP) also gave presentations focusing on the outcomes of the High-Level Meeting on National Drought Policies in March 2013 in Geneva, which produced a final declaration on the need to develop an integrated national drought policy in every country. The NMDP initiative was one of the latest projects launched at the HMNDP, and the session provided the opportunity to promote the initiative among stakeholders, experts and national delegations. The goals and objectives of the initiative were highlighted: to develop capacities in diverse ministries and national institutions in order to formulate pro-active, risk-based drought management policies and overcome prevailing structures of reactive and post-hazard management strategies. The presentations were followed by a panel discussion. Issues of how to implement policies on the ground, priority setting, addressing the lack of coordination and funding problems of developing countries were some of the topics debated during the panel discussion. The session was well received and provided an impetus for the initiative’s next steps.
