The UN Food and Agriculture Organisation has called on national governments across the world to increase provisioning for drought resistance and resilience in the face of more frequent and severe patterns of drought.

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In Europe, although it is estimated that Northern nations will receive more rain overall as a result of climate change, Southern states are expected to suffer longer drier periods. Already in the UK, long-term data from the Met Office suggests weather patterns could be shifting towards rainier summers and drier winters, the time when aquifers and other water resources traditionally recharge.

Last year, parts of Spain and Italy, as well as a number of Eastern European states, suffered under severe drought which dented crop yields in the East and sparked forest fires in Spain's arid Southern regions. Furthermore, as a result of austerity measures in Spain, emergency services were unable to cope with the forest fires, which served to exacerbate the damage they caused.

Since the 1970s, the land area affected by drought worldwide has doubled. In the past year alone, severe droughts have also impacted on food security and agricultural production in the USA, Mexico, Brazil and Argentina, parts of China and India, Russia and Australia.

Although countries around the world are suffering from more frequent and intense droughts, the hardest hit countries are also amongst the poorest. The most vulnerable countries are in the World's drylands; as has been seen with drought in the Horn of Africa, areas of Africa and parts of western Asia are at particular risk and here the consequences of drought can be devastating.

Call for pre-emptive policy action on drought

On Friday (8th March), FAO leaders said "Droughts cause the deaths and displacement of more people than cyclones, floods and earthquakes combined, making them the world's most destructive natural hazard. Yet while droughts are expected to increase in frequency, area and intensity due to climate change, effective drought management policies are missing in most parts of the world." 

Speaking in Geneva, representatives of several UN organisations, including FAO and the World Meteorological Organization, announced they will begin to work together to promote better drought management around the world, with a particular view to making "drought-prone countries more resilient."

The exact nature of the work will be decided over the course of meetings in Geneva being held between 11th-15th March, though UN officials said the overarching aim is to change drought management policy from a reactive (crisis management) to a proactive (risk management) approach. World leaders, expert scientists and development agencies will also contribute to this week's meetings.

Commenting on the need for greater inter-agency cooperation, WMO Secretary-General Michel Jarraud said on Friday, "The frequency, intensity, and duration of droughts are expected to rise in several parts of the world as a result of climate change, with an increasing human and economic toll. We simply cannot afford to continue in a piecemeal, crisis-driven mode. We have the knowledge and experience to reduce the impact of drought. What we need now is the policy framework and action on the ground."

The effects of drought can last long after the rains return, with food remaining scarce and expensive and depleted water resources, eroded soils, weakened livestock, and legal and social conflicts lingering for years. Often, droughts are broken by major flood events, so they catch communities when they are most vulnerable, and add to the damages experienced.

Other specific targets of the UN organisations include:

• Development of effective national drought policies addressing key areas outlined by UN groups.
• Increased collaboration to improve observation networks over whole regions and across national borders, to increase preparedness for drought
• Improvements to public understanding of drought
• Implementation of financial strategies to deal with drought – including "governmental and private insurance strategies"
• Creation of a safety net of emergency relief, based on "sound stewardship of natural resources and self-help at diverse levels of governance"

UN spokesperson and expert on desertification Luc Gnacadja commented ahead of this week's meetings, "The cost of crisis management far exceeds that of risk management and early action and we should not wait until the next drought, causing famine and claiming human lives."

FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva also commented on the impact drought is having on agriculture. He said, "More extreme and frequent droughts resulting from climate change are having devastating food security impacts, especially in the most vulnerable regions of the world. To buck this trend, we must build resilient, 'drought-resistant' communities. This means not simply reacting after the rains fail, but investing over the long-term, so that when drought does hit, people and food systems can weather the blow."

In a statement on Friday, Graziano da Silva's UN organisation explained that there is hope for such a cooperative, forward-looking strategy; "Sustainable land management practices, including restoring degraded lands and improving soil and water management that help to mitigate drought already exist, but need to be reflected, supported and scaled up by national policies."