UN ESCAP study on building resilience to drought in South-East Asia
UN ESCAP study on building resilience to drought in South-East Asia
UN-Water
1 July, 2019
South-East Asia is regularly hit by droughts. Though starting slowly, droughts can have devastating cumulative impacts – striking hardest at the poor and heightening inequality, as well as degrading land and increasing the prospects of conflict.
United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) recently launched a new study titled ‘Ready for the Dry Years: Building resilience to drought in South-East Asia’. The study shows that there will be many more dry years ahead, and the area affected by drought is likely to shift and expand.
The study also identifies actions that states can individually and collectively undertake to mitigate the impacts of drought. It proposes three priority areas of intervention;
to strengthen drought risk assessment and early warning services, for example, by sharing data from space-based technologies.
to foster risk financing instruments that can insure communities against slow-onset droughts.
to enhance people’s capacities to adapt to drought, thereby reducing the potential for conflict. The study argues that many timely steps taken now can contribute towards protecting the poorest communities and fostering more peaceful societies.
Download the study ‘Ready for the Dry Years: Building resilience to drought in South-East Asia’ here.
Coordinating the UN's work on water and sanitation