Five researchers from the Institute for Environmental Studies (IVM) at Vrije Universiteit Amterdam collaborated on the World Drought Atlas. It is the first time drought worldwide been mapped so comprehensively. The atlas will be presented during the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) conference.
Drought records are being broken worldwide. From the UNCCD and the European Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC), the World Drought Atlas has therefore now been launched. It is the most comprehensive global publication on drought risks and measures, and aims to raise awareness around drought as a global challenge, as a wake-up call for world leaders. The publication will be launched December 2 at the UNCCD conference in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where several nations discuss how to build humanity's resilience in the face of more severe droughts.
Five researchers from the IVM (VU Amsterdam) collaborated on the publication: Marthe Wens, Anne van Loon, Anne-Sophie Sabino Siemons, Alicja Grudnowska and Hans de Moel. The Italian Cima Research Foundation and the United Nations University Institute for Environment and Human Security (Germany) also collaborated on the World Drought Atlas.
Systemic nature
Droughts are one of the world’s most costly and deadly hazards and are on track to affect 3 in 4 people globally by 2050. However, many countries and sectors are still failing to prepare for them through the right actions, policies, investments, and incentives.
Marthe Wens, senior drought researcher at the IVM: 'Human activities are driving or exacerbating droughts and their impacts on society. This is clearly depicted in the Atlas, and based on scientific literature and using examples from around the world. It also means that through our management of land and water we have the ability to reduce drought impacts and increase our systems' resilience.'
The publication depicts the systemic nature of drought risks for both specialist and non-specialist audiences. Through dozens of maps, infographics, and case studies, it illustrates how drought risks are interconnected across sectors like energy, agriculture, river transport, and international trade and how they can trigger cascading effects, fueling inequalities and conflicts and threatening public health.
Future-oriented drought management
The atlas also underscores the need for national drought plans and international cooperation to keep communities, economies, and ecosystems afloat in the face of harsher events. Additionally, it offers guidance for proactive and prospective drought management and adaptation across sectors and governance levels.
Drought impacts are typically less visible, and attract less attention, than sudden events like floods and earthquakes. That is particularly true for the effects on ecosystems, which tend to be neglected in national drought plans despite their crippling impacts on economies and communities. But fast-onset droughts, known as flash droughts, more intense droughts —and more readily apparent impacts— are also becoming commonplace.