Mitigating Drought

Mitigating Drought

Mitigating drought—taking actions in advance of drought to reduce its long-term risk—can involve a wide range of tools. These tools include policies, activities, plans, and programs.

The last 20 years have seen significant progress in proactive drought management in the United States, much of it at the state level. This section provides an overview of the tools that the states and various government agencies have used in recent droughts, a number of state drought plans (and analyses of some of those plans), the NDMC’s 10-step drought planning process, and links to many other related sites.

Highlights

Status of State
Drought Plans

How to Reduce
Drought Risk

Mitigation Tools for States Case studies and lists of mitigation tactics used by states are presented here.
The Status of State Drought Plans U.S. states have taken the lead in creating drought plans since the 1980s. This discussion includes a map showing which states have drought plans.
Drought Preparedness Planning: Building Institutional Capacity, featurning the NDMC’s 10-step Drought Planning Process. The 10-step planning process, developed in 1991 and revised in 2000 and 2004, provides guidelines for creating a drought plan and a process to adapt the plan to any level of government or geographical setting. Reprinted from D.A. Wilhite, ed. Drought and Water Crises: Science, Technology, and Management Issues (CRC Press, 2005), pp. 93-135, by courtesy of Taylor and Francis Group, LLC. (To see the Table of Contents, click here. To order this book, click here.)
State Drought Plans and Related Documents The NDMC maintains a list of links to drought plans from a number of U.S. states.
Overview of Selected State Drought Plans—Idaho, Missouri, Montana, New York, Washington
Directory of Drought Contacts Use this list to find drought planners in other U.S. states and regions.
Federal and Regional Drought Mitigation Tools Case studies of selected federal and regional organizations with responsibility for drought response.
Links to Drought Mitigation Tools for Agricultural Producers

Water Conservation Links for water suppliers/municipalities, water conservation campaigns/programs, homeowners, and kids and teachers.

The European Drought Centre (EDC) is a virtual center of European drought research and drought management organizations to promote collaboration and capacity building between scientists and the user community.

African Drought Risk and Development Network, developed by the United Nations Development Programme Drylands Development Center and the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction Africa, is designed as a resource for drought reduction in Africa and includes discussion, lessons, and resources for planners, journalists, students, and others interested in drought and drylands issues.

Links to news articles relating to drought mitigation