Drought Management Centre for Southeastern Europe

The mission of the proposed DMCSEE is to coordinate and facilitate the development, assessment, and application of drought risk management tools and policies in South-Eastern Europe with the goal of improving drought preparedness and reducing drought impacts. Therefore DMCSEE will focus its work on monitoring and assessing drought and assessing risks and vulnerability connected to drought.

The agreed core tasks of the DMCSEE were grouped into project objectives. 8 project objectives are summarized below:

1.To assess the data available for effective drought monitoring and early warning system. There exists little knowledge regarding the current institutional capacity of DMCSEE member countries in the areas of drought monitoring and early warning, risk assessment, mitigation, and preparedness. As a first step, the DMCSEE will conduct an assessment of institutional capacity, including Meta data available. Further tasks are to ensure data homogeneity and quality control and to design appropriate data base.

2.To evaluate and select the most effective and reliable indices and indicators for drought assessment. A common methodology for drought assessment will be adopted based on existing experiences and depending on the availability of data. An assessment of historical drought events and their impacts, in particular social and economic, is part of this objective.

3.To conduct a drought risk assessment. Identification of stakeholders/users and their needs is essential first step of this objective. Drought risk assessment will be conducted for the region using established methodology. The goal of this objective is to identify the principal economic, environmental, and social impacts associated with drought. The next step is to analyze these results, select the most important impacts to be mitigated, and identify appropriate mitigation measures. Analysis of drought vulnerability will be conducted for the region. The drought risk and drought vulnerability maps are one of the most important initial tasks of the DMCSEE. Knowing vulnerability and risk, DMCSEE will be able to advice on improved drought management and policy.

4.To identify the specific training needs. It is critically important as the first step in this process to determine the scientific, operational and institutional capacity that exists at the national and sub-regional level. The DMCSEE will seek to compile this information from interactions with national meteorological and hydrological services. and many other organizations within the region and will provide leadership for the identification of specialized seminars, workshops, and conferences to build institutional capacity in member countries on a risk-based approach for drought management. Scientific exchange will be an integral part of the development of the DMCSEE.

5.To develop and implement a data and information delivery system on drought management. A principal role for the DMCSEE is the development of data and information delivery system to end users and stakeholders. The most immediate task is the development of a web site that provides end users with access to all DMCSEE products and those products available from member countries, as well as links to the principal drought-related web sites that exist at the regional and international levels. The web site will also contain information on mission and program activities of the DMCSEE, including training opportunities, meetings, and research activities. Other dissemination channels will also be employed for providing information to end users in Southeastern Europe. These would include both print and electronic media such as newspapers, television, and radio.

6.To develop a comprehensive network of experts and institutions to assist the DMCSEE. To establish close cooperation in the field of drought management Memorandums of Understanding should be developed with a wide range of experts and institutions within Europe and internationally to promote and enhance the development of the DMCSEE in monitoring and forecasting, mitigation, and preparedness. These would include national and international technical organization in the field of meteorology and environmental monitoring and national meteorological and hydrological services.

7.To ensure communication and user feedback. DMCSEE will develop an accessible strategy to communicate with end users in a way that is understandable and not too technical. Special external competencies will be needed to prepare document and notes that use non-technical vocabulary, clear guidance and simple recommendation. The language issue should also be taken into account.

8.To establish the permanent DMCSEE and ensure its sustainable functioning and operations. Elaboration of future legal status of DMCSEE, its internal rules and procedures and aspects of international accountability, responsibility and evaluation will be performed with the assistance of specialized consultancy. Based on the results of the first year of the project, a review of the possibilities of contribution (technical, in kind, financial, expertise and human resources) of each member country will be conducted by the host country through consultation. A template of yearly working programme for the DMCSEE to be used after the end of the project will be proposed.