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Around 75 per cent of the population will be affected by drought by 2050, according to the World Drought Atlas launched by the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) and the European Commission Joint Research Centre on December 2, 2024.
This publication comes as the UNCCD parties gather for their 16th meeting at Riyadh to build resilience against the harsh droughts in the near future.
The atlas is co-produced with Cima Research Foundation (Italy), Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (The Netherlands) and the UN University Institute for Environment and Human Security (Germany).
The atlas brings out the effect of droughts on energy, trade and agriculture. “Drought is not just a climate extreme. Human factors associated with the use and management of land and water can exacerbate and amplify droughts and their impacts," said Bernard Magenhann, Acting Director General of the European Commission Joint Research Centre. "Unsustainable water use, water competition among different sectors, poor land management and not properly accounting for water resources are some examples of these human factors."
Data, he added, is essential in building knowledge; managing risks relies upon monitoring and forecasting systems.
Specifically for India, UNCCD advocated for better understanding of drought-related crop failure in the country, as India has the highest number of people (more than 25 million) employed in the agricultural sector. The atlas predicted a huge loss of soybean yield due to droughts in India.
It reminded of the 'Day Zero' in Chennai in 2019. A mismanagement of water resources and rampant urbanisation has resulted in water crisis in the city, which receives more than 1,400 millimetres of rainfall annually on an average.
Although Chennai has several waterbodies and is a pioneer city to make rainwater harvesting mandatory, lack of implementation of the legislation and unplanned growth of the city reduced the groundwater levels in the city, pushing it towards a drought-like situation, according to UNCCD.
The situation speaks to the fact that drought isn't always a natural phenomenon, the authors noted.
Between 2020 and 2023, India has been the hub of riots and tensions due to mismanagement of water, they added. Sub Saharan Africa is next to follow, according to the atlas.
There is need for an immediate and urgent call for action at the policy level, the experts highlighted. Moreover, participation and commitments at international levels, cutting across different sectors, are important.
Data sharing will be key in the fight to reduce drought damage. Early warnings for droughts will also play a crucial role in bringing down risks and moving towards resilience, the UNCCD experts underlined. Investment is required to improve on knowledge, forecasting droughts and measuring the risks, they added.
Appropriate soil and agronomical management practices are powerful tools to reduce the risk of impacts posed by droughts on crops, according to the International Drought Resilience Alliance (IDRA). This alliance, formed in 2022, works on mobilising the funds, enhance knowledge innovative ways to mobilise funds, improve the sharing of knowledge and frame sustainable impactful actions. IDRA also extended support in developing the atlas.
“There is no time to lose. I call on all nations, and in particular the Parties to the UNCCD, to carefully review the findings of this Atlas and take action to help shape a more resilient, more secure and more sustainable future that prioritises the needs of people, society, and the planet," said Ibrahim Thiaw, executive-secretary of UNCCD and Under-Secretary-General of the UN.
To successfully manage drought risk, communities, regions and countries
must adopt proactive and prospective approaches to drought risk management and adaptation, the authors of the atlas stressed.
“By challenging governments, business leaders and decision makers at all levels to radically rethink decision-making processes, and set in motion more effective, whole-of-society strategies to manage and mitigate drought risk, the atlas provides decision makers with a systemic perspective on drought risks and impacts, illustrates how risks are interconnected across sectors and offers guidance on proactive and prospective drought management and adaptation," added Thiaw.
