Towards national drought policies in Latin America and the Caribbean region

The objective of this White Paper is to suggest the components of a proactive drought policy that could be adopted and implemented in the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean that experience frequent droughts. A proactive drought policy and plan aims to reduce vulnerability and the costs of drought impacts to the country.

In Section one, the pillars of a proactive drought policy are presented. Monitoring and Early Warning form the first pillar and should be established in all countries and regions. Second, Vulnerability and Impact Assessments should be developed to transfer key information to policy makers in an intuitive, user-friendly format. Third, Mitigation and Response strategies and actions require planning well ahead of a drought event, rather than after the disaster strikes, to reduce vulnerability and impacts. Mitigation strategies should also take into consideration the expected impacts of climate change, which may increase vulnerability. 

Section two explores drought preparedness at national level, while international and regional cooperation are covered in the third section. A ten-stop process outlines considerations for the planning and implementation of a drought policy, and is explored in relation to the three pillars in the fourth part. The fifth section discusses institutional, financial and gender dimensions.