Risk, innovation and development in a changing climate: the role of drought preparedness policies and disaster risk management in Ceara, Brazil

This article seeks to provide and overview of the measures and policies addressing drought prevention and preparedness, facing the impacts of climate change, in the State of Ceará, Brazil. It addresses issues of public policies concerning drought risk management in order to allow a greater understanding of policies and programs, experiences and perspectives by the analysis of the process of elaboration of the Integrated Disaster Risk Management Plan of the State of Ceara, Brazil (PIGRD-CE), as well as of the development of the Early Warning System - Drought Monitor -, while addressing the political coordination, which led to the creation of the Drought Commission (Comitê das Secas).

The article presents the experiences accumulated by the State of Ceara in drought management processes showing a promising potential for replicability in other Latin American countries also subjected to threats that the changing climate may impose, in combination with the analysis of related risks - political/institutional/cultural -, in the development of public policies to draw together the main conclusions, lessons learned and recommendations