R&D highlights edition 2019

PROJECTS Water and subsoil resources 32 Homepage of the interactive online drought catalogue www.droughtcatalogue.com D roughts are among the most far-reaching natural disasters that the world faces today. In recent years, countries around the world have been severely affected by droughts that reduce food supplies, employment opportunities and energy production. In addition to short-term responses to droughts, such as food relief and increased groundwater pumping, the changing climate and evolving socio-economic conditions demand the development of adaptive solutions and long-term decision making. A first and indispensable step towards adapting to drought is to make a drought risk assessment and develop knowledge that focuses both on specific sectors and users, and on the overall economy. There is an increasing need for the accurate assessment and monitoring of drought hazards, impacts and risks in order to support decision- making about drought-risk reduction, risk financing and disaster response. Although numerous new products have been developed in recent years, there is currently no comprehensive overview of the available data, tools and approaches that can be used for drought hazard and risk assessments. We were asked by the World Bank to collaborate with an international group of experts on the drafting of a guidance document: “Assessing Drought Hazard and Risk – Principles and Implementation Guidance”. This document provides guidelines for the assessment of drought hazard and the short- and long-term risks for specific sectors and a country’s overall economy. The target audience for these guidelines consists of non-expert professionals such as local policymakers but they may also be of interest to water resource managers, professionals in risk management and climate adaptation, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), donors, and international organisations. The drought guidance document relies on a comprehensive Global Inventory of Drought Hazard and Risk Modelling Tools and Resources that is available as an online catalogue, and on a quantitative and qualitative comparison of drought hazard and risk models. The online drought catalogue, the reports delivered during the course of this project and guidance document are available at https://www. droughtcatalogue.com/. An important focus of the project is that drought must be defined and assessed at the right scale and in relation to its impacts. The collection of reliable, dynamic and detailed socio-economic data is crucial to successful drought assessments. However, this is a major challenge, especially in developing countries. It was also found that global models and datasets are valuable tools for the establishment of drought assessments, and drought forecasting and warning systems, on the national and sub-national scales. Contact: Dimmie Hendriks, Dimmie.Hendriks@deltares.nl, t +31 (0)6 3010 6989 Patricia Trambauer, Patricia.Trambauer@deltares.nl , t +31 (0)6 1039 6983 Further reading : www.droughtcatalogue.com (reports and guidance available at “About page” of website) DRY, DRIER, DROUGHT: ASSESSING DROUGHT RISK AROUND THE WORLD This project involved the drafting of the World Bank guidance document “Assessing Drought Hazard and Risk – Principles and Implementation Guidance” for local professionals around the world. The document is supported by a global inventory and assessment of modelling tools and resources for drought hazard and risk. The guidance document, inventory and reports are available online.