Summary
Contents
The geo-climatic conditions of South and South-East Asian countries are diverse and vulnerable to multiple natural hazards such as drought. Drought evolves over months or even years, affects a large spatial extent and causes enormous damages. Drought Risk Management in South and South-East Asia is a comprehensive reference on overall perspectives and scenarios on drought risk mitigation and management, based on researches and case studies from South and South-East Asian countries. Drought management is a complex area of work that requires active and continuous participation of the national, provincial and local governments, multiple ministries, and divisions. This book demonstrates the best practices of socio-economic and technological interventions to enhance drought risk management, which will help to develop plans and policies, and their implementation to reduce the impact of droughts. It also offers views of field practitioners on impacts of the interventions practised at the national, sub-national and local levels.
Drought Management Practices in South and South-East Asia
Drought Management Practices in South and South-East Asia
3.1 Introduction
Drought has been defined as a prolonged drier event than the normal conditions of the natural environment. This prolonged drier condition leads to water-related problems. Apart from water scarcity, prolonged drought events affect natural habitats, ecosystems and socio-economic conditions including irrigation, safe drinking- and industrial water supplies and as such (Heim & Richard, 2002). Drought has been classified into several categories: meteorological, agricultural and hydrological. Meteorological droughts emphasize reduced rainfall whereas agricultural droughts highlight the issue of less moisture in soil. Hydrological droughts refer to reduced levels of surface and ground ...