Environment Writing.- Since 2023, some of the most widespread and damaging drought episodes in history have occurred, due to climate change and the incessant pressure on water resources and land surface, are some of the keys of a report supported by the UN and presented this Wednesday in Seville.
The report,
'Key points on drought in the world between 2023 and 2025', has been presented within the framework of the celebration of the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development organized by the United Nations, which is being held in the Andalusian capital from June 30 to July 3.
The document was prepared by the U.S. National Drought Mitigation Center (NDMC) and the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), with the support of the International Drought Resilience Alliance (IDRA).
The study gathers information from hundreds of governmental, scientific, and media sources to highlight the repercussions in the most acute drought hotspots in Africa (Somalia, Ethiopia, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi, Botswana, Namibia), the Mediterranean (Spain, Morocco, Turkey), Latin America (Panama and the Amazon basin), or Southeast Asia, among others.
Scientist Cody Knutson, co-author of the report and planning coordinator at the NDMC at the University of Nebraska (USA), underlines a recent OECD estimate that indicates that a drought episode today entails an economic cost at least twice as high as in the year 2000, and an increase of between 35% and 110% is expected by 2035.
Paula Guastello, lead author of the study and researcher of drought impacts at the NDMC, points to women, girls, and the elderly as the most affected. Therefore, she says, "as droughts intensify, it is crucial that we work together on a global scale to protect the most vulnerable people and ecosystems and reassess whether our current water use practices are sustainable in today's changing world."
Foster global cooperation
The Executive Secretary of the UNCCD, Ibrahim Thiaw, asserts that "drought is the new normal for which we have to be prepared", because "it is a silent killer; it creeps in, depletes resources, devastates lives in slow motion, and its scars are deep".
"Drought is no longer a distant threat," he affirms and recalls that "it is here, it is increasing and demands urgent global cooperation, because when energy, food and water disappear at the same time, societies begin to crumble."
Mediterranean Countries: The Canary in the Coal Mine
The climatologist, co-author of the report and founding director of the NDMC, Mark Svoboda, maintains that "it is not a period of drought, it is a slow-evolving global catastrophe", and states that "no country, regardless of its wealth or capacity, can afford to be complacent".
"Mediterranean countries represent the canaries in the coal mine for all modern economies," he explains and states that "the struggles of Spain, Morocco and Turkey to secure water, food and energy in a persistent drought offer a preview of the future of water under uncontrolled global warming."
According to the report data, Spanish investment in irrigation and water infrastructure reaches more than 22.84 billion euros.
Degradation of the Amazon and the Panama Canal
Between 2023 and 2024, the drought brought the Amazon River basin to its lowest levels, interrupted the supply of drinking water in large areas and transportation for hundreds of thousands of people, and caused the death of thousands of fish and endangered dolphins.
The authors claim that as deforestation and fires in the Amazon intensify, it risks turning from a carbon sink to a carbon source.
The drought also caused the water level in the Panama Canal to drop and led to a reduction of more than a third in ship traffic, causing "significant disruptions to world trade".
The Worst Drought in Africa
In Somalia, 43,000 people died in 2022 due to hunger linked to the drought, a situation of food insecurity that continues to grow and is expected to reach emergency levels; in addition, 68 million people need food aid in Southern Africa and 23 million suffer from acute hunger in East Africa.
The Deputy Executive Secretary of the UNCCD, Andrea Meza, states that "proactive drought management is a matter of climate justice, equitable development and good governance", and recalls that today, around 85% of the people affected by drought live in low- and middle-income countries, and women and girls are the most affected.
In their opinion, "public policies and international cooperation frameworks must urgently prioritize drought resilience for the good of societies and economies."
Restoration and Nature-Based Solutions
To address drought episodes, the authors call for greater and urgent investments in the creation of more robust early warning systems and real-time monitoring of this phenomenon and its effects, including the conditions that contribute to food and water insecurity.
Furthermore, the implementation of nature-based solutions, such as the restoration of watersheds and the use of native crops; and building resilient infrastructure, such as off-grid energy and alternative water supply technologies.
In addition, implement climate adaptation with a gender perspective and foster global cooperation, especially to protect transboundary river basins and trade routes.
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