Droughts became the costliest natural disaster for agriculture in developing countries between 2005 and 2015, according to a white paper released at the 14th Conference of Parties to the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) in Greater Noida.

Highlights

* Agriculture bore a fourth of the total losses caused by climate change-related disasters between 2003 and 2013, according to the analysis. The farming sector endured more than 80 per cent of the damage caused by drought, it added.

* Meteorological disasters such as extreme temperatures and storms were the second-most harmful to agriculture with losses up to $26.5 billion.

* They were followed by floods ($19 billion), earthquakes and landslides ($10.5 billion), biological disasters ($9.5 billion) and wildfires ($1 billion).

* The paper was prepared by the Food and Agriculture Organisation in collaboration with the UNCCD, World Meteorological Organisation, Global Water Partnership, Integrated Drought Management Programme and Global Framework on Water Scarcity in Agriculture. It included assessments of the drought situation in Africa, Latin America, North America, Asia, Europe, Australia and Eastern Mediterranean.

* Droughts impacted energy production too and this poses significant challenges to developing regions, pointed out the paper.

* Water is critical for hydropower plants, renewable technologies, cooling thermoelectric plants and extraction and processing of fuels. A prolonged drought made developing countries spend their precious resources on fuel imports, read the analysis.

* For example, electricity generation from hydropower and bagasse decreased by up to 40 per cent in Uganda owing to deficit rainfall in 2010-11 and the country had to import costly fuel for thermal power generation, it said.

* Shortage of water impacted the manufacturing sector too by creating lack of power, input supply difficulties, reduction in demand and macroeconomic conditions.

This necessitates a 10-point framework, which should be relevant to multiple disciplines…

* Appoint a national drought management policy commission

* State or define the goals and objectives of risk-based national drought management policy

* Seek stakeholder participation, define and resolve conflicts between key water use sectors

* Inventory data and financial resources available and broadly identify groups at risk

* Prepare the key tenets of the national drought management policy and preparedness plans

* Identify research needs and fill institutional gaps

* Integrate science and policy aspects of drought management

* Publicise the policy and preparedness plans, build public awareness

* Develop education programmes for all ages and stakeholder groups

* Evaluate and revise policy and supporting plans