Droughts and the Post-2015 Agenda

Description & Learning objectives

The Post-2015 Agenda of the United Nations saw the adoption of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, the Paris Agreement on climate change, and the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda. The common ground of all three international agreements is the reduction of vulnerabilities and enhancing resilience to the impacts of slow-onset and extreme weather and climate events. Since the adoption of these agreements, considerable amount of progress has been made towards the integration of climate change adaptation (CCA) and disaster risk reduction (DRR). At the same time, there is growing evidence that the frequency and extent of weather and climate related hazards such as drought has increased as a result of global warming.

Drought is widely recognized as a slow creeping natural hazard that occurs as a consequence of the natural climatic variability. The impact of drought can potentially erase development gains in various sectors, dragging millions of people further back into poverty and increase the number of humanitarian crises. Without a coordinated and coherent national drought policy, nations will continue to respond to drought in a reactive and crisis management mode. In order to address drought issues more effectively, World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and Global Water Partnership (GWP) jointly launched the Integrated Drought Management Programme (IDMP), which provide preventive and demand-driven support mechanisms for the communities, countries and regions affected by drought. Integrated drought management is a critical component of disaster risk reduction, climate adaptation strategies and national water resources policies, bringing together the needs of the different stakeholders affected by drought.

The webinar therefore examines the potential for a more coherent and integrated approach to build climate resilience, reduce economic and social losses, and alleviate poverty in drought affected regions of the world.

Duration

Date: 26/11/2020
Time: 14:00 to 15:15 (CET)

The webinar will last around 75 minutes. 45 minutes presentation, 30 minutes Q&A.

Speakers

Ambe Emmanuel Cheo (UNU-EHS)

Dr. Ambe Emmanuel Cheo is Associate Academic Officer at United Nations University – Institute for Environment and Human Security in Bonn Germany. At the institute, he shares his responsibility between Pan African Cooperation and Educational Technologies (PACET) programme and the Environmental Vulnerability & Ecosystem Services section (EVES) section, where he is contributing in research activities, capacity building and outreach activities in the frame of projects. Before joining UNU-EHS, he was a researcher at Brandenburg University of Technology (BTU) Cottbus-Senftenberg, Germany.

He has a broad interest in water management and hydrogeology. He is also interested in building capacity of youths on entrepreneurship, education on the environment and climate action in the global South.

Daniel Tsegai (UNCCD)

Dr. Daniel Tsegai is Programme Officer at the External Relations, Policy and Advocacy Unit of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD). He guides the policy work of the UNCCD Drought Initiative. He also serves as coordinator of the Intergovernmental Working Group on Drought. Before joining UNCCD, he was Academic Officer at the UN-Water Decade Programme on Capacity Development of the United Nations University (UNU).

Robert Stefanski (WMO)

Robert Stefanski is Chief of the Agricultural Meteorology Division in the Climate and Water Department at the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). He develops the scientific and technical aspects of WMO’s Agricultural Meteorology Programme and provides technical and scientific support to the WMO Commission for Agricultural Meteorology (CAgM). He also serves as Head of the Technical Support Unit of the Integrated Drought Management Programme (IDMP) and Project Manager of the World AgroMeteorological Information Service (WAMIS).

Webinar hosts

Registration Link

Droughts and the Post-2015 Agenda