Institute for Global Environmental Strategies Regional collaboration on drought early warning systems in Asia International Workshop on Drought Assessment and Mitigation in South West Asia Colombo, Sri Lanka 7 – 8 October 2004 Masanori Kobayashi Senior Policy Researcher Long Term Perspectives and Policy Integration Project Institute for Global Environmental Strategies, Japan Towards sustainable development policy oriented, practical and strategic research on global environmental issues

Aridity Map UNEP World Atlas of Desertification, 1997 Hyper-arid Arid Semi-arid Dry sub-humid

UNCCD – Objectives and Implementation Activities % of earth’s territory is dryland; 1.2 billion inhabitants; many impoverished; 2.UNCCD adopted in 1994 to promote measures for combating desertification and to facilitate international cooperation; 3.UNCCD with 192 members; 4.More than 60 countries have adopted national action programmes; 5.Sub-regional and regional cooperation has been promoted through action programmes; 6.Promoting cooperation on scientific and technical matters through UNCCD Group of Experts and Committee on Science and Technology 7.Global Environment Facility (GEF) designated as a financing mechanism; 250 million USD was allocated

Measures for combating desertification & mitigating drought impacts Biophysical aspects Water resource management Sustainable forest management/reforestation Sustainable agriculture development Biodiversity conservation Climate change mitigation Socio-economic aspects Poverty eradication Monitoring and assessment Policy planning & establishing/strengtheni ng institutional set-up for implementation Implementation of policy and projects Evaluation and review of implementation outcome

Aral See Basin Desertification Map Collection and analysis of data collected by satellite and remote sensing Ground surveillance Optimal land use and revegetation planning and policy making Advanced Science and Technology & Traditional knowledge Challenges in biophysical data collection and analysis 1.Spatial data collection in sequence for temporal assessment 2.Comprehensive assessment of terrestrial vegetation cover, climatic/ hydrological and oceanographic conditions 3.Upgrading benchmarks and indicators 4.Strengthening human resources and institutional capacities 5.Effective application of data and implementation of early warning systems for land and water management

Present3 mothsMedium termLong term (time) Desertification control and drought mitigation measures – Early warning systems and their response measures Prediction of desertification/drought Water conservation, supply and watering for irrigation Conversion to water use efficient/drought resistant crops Culling/disposal of livestock Fallowing farmland Legislation on the land owners’ responsibility for combating desertification/mitigating drought Reforestation/ecosystem rehabilitation

Crops and their water use efficiency 1 JD = US$1.4

Integrated ecosystem management Water harvesting and efficient use Indigenous and advanced methods

TPN5: UNCCD Asia Regional Thematic Programme Network on Strengthening Capacities for Combating Desertification and Mitigating Drought Impacts

South Asia Sub-Regional Action Programme (for combating desertification, mitigating drought impacts and promoting sustainable land management in the context of UNCCD implementation)

International Strategies for Disaster Reduction (ISDR) 1.The International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction (IDNDR, ) 2.World Conference on Natural Disaster Reduction, held in Yokohama, Japan in 1994; “Yokohama Strategy for a Safer World: Guidelines for Natural Disaster Prevention, Preparedness and Mitigation” and its Plan of Action adopted; 3.The UN General Assembly adopted the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR) in December 1999 to follow up on the IDNDR; 4.World Conference on Disaster Reduction scheduled to take place from January 2005, Kobe, Hyogo, Japan aimed to launch specific initiatives or partnerships to support the implementation of the ISDR as well as to facilitate networking and exchange of information between partners and organization; 5.Proposed or ongoing programmes and projects; capacity building for space technology application, weather forecast application, Regional Drought Preparedness Network for Asia (ESCAP, ISDR, UNDP, UNCCD Secretariat and ADPC (Asian Disaster Preparedness Center, Pathumthani, Thailand), GEF

Key Elements in Developing Sub-regional Collaboration in South Asia for mitigating drought impacts 1.Articulating the multiple impacts of drought and potential benefits of drought mitigation (including biodiversity, migration, etc) 2.Elaborating measures for strengthening drought preparedness and resistance, and their effects 3.Making the best use of or building upon the frameworks already developed, currently available or in pipeline for promoting regional collaboration; 4.Identifying the activities where regional collaboration would generate additional value (trainer training/leadership development, EWSs, review and information exchange on successful practices, handbook development); 5.Outlining institutional framework/network for facilitating sub-regional collaboration (coordinating/collaborating countries/agencies/institutes to be designated); 6.Involving multiple agencies of national governments and stakeholder groups of each country; 7.Exploring multiple sources of funding by linking the activities with priority national/regional/international agenda (UNCCD/NAP, PRSP, MDGs, WSSD, GEF, WWF3, ISDR, etc.); and 8.Developing local/national level pilot project proposals that will be linked with the collaborative activities at the sub-regional level