Planning for Drought

The Basics of Drought Planning: A 10-Step Process

Donald A. Wilhite
Michael J. Hayes
Cody Knutson
Kelly Helm Smith

Because droughts are a normal part of virtually any climate, it is important to develop plans to reduce their impacts. The drought planning process outlined here was first published in 1990, as part of a research project funded by the National Science Foundation (Wilhite, 1990). Since 1990, it has been revised and updated several times to reflect greater state, national, and international experience in drought planning (Wilhite, 1991). Greater emphasis on mitigation and preparedness; recent workshops on drought planning; and a methodology for conducting risk analysis have also helped reshape the drought planning methodology (Wilhite, et al., 2000). The process discussed in this paper is written for application at the state level, but the methodology is generic and can be adapted to any level of government in any country (Wilhite and Svoboda, 2000).

10 Steps for Drought Planning

1. Appoint a Drought Task Force
2. State the Purpose and Objectives of the Drought Plan
3. Seek Stakeholder Participation and Resolve Conflict
4. Inventory Resources and Identify Groups at Risk
5. Develop Organizational Structure and Prepare Drought Plan
6. Integrate Science and Policy, Close Institutional Gaps
7. Publicize the Proposed Plan, Solicit Reaction
8. Implement the Plan
9. Develop Education Programs
10. Post-Drought Evaluation

References
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