Investigating Successful International Experiences in Drought Management

Abstract

Analysis of existing drought management policies in some countries, including Iran, indicates that decision-makers mainly react to drought episodes through a crisis-management approach, instead of developing a comprehensive and long-term policies. One of the comprehensive programs is the drought risk management model adopted in the member state of the European Union (EU), which is based on the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD). In the present study, the above-mentioned document along with the experiences of different countries faced with the drought crisis was analyzed in order to prepare a drought management plan for the country. This study is an applied research performed through library studies based on scientific and international resources. The results showed that in the process of drought management, creation of organizational capacity is the main factor to evaluate drought and its various effects on the community. This can only be achieved through the establishment of a Drought Independent Committee. On the other hand, drought management should be seen as a risk management process that emphasizes permanent monitoring of resources and observes climate change in the monitored area, rather than the onest of disaster as a crisis management. Drought management has been accepted by the international community in terms of risk management instead of crisis management. The proposed plan presented in this study is based on active drought management (risk management) that provides appropriate plans and preparedness for drought response, by offering long-term planning and forecasting.

Keywords

• crisis
• drought
• experiences
• management
• risk