The Second International Conference on Drought Management: Economics of Drought and Drought Preparedness in the Mediterranean

Most of the Mediterranean and West Asian and North African countries are arid or semi-arid with low and
erratic rainfall and high temperatures during the summer season. During the last decades, droughts have
become more frequent and have had negative socio-economic impacts which are frequently linked to a high
exploitation of available water resources.

The Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change foresees a temperature
rise globally in the range of 2 to 6°C by 2100 and states that extreme weather events such as storms and
droughts will most likely amplify. Semi-arid regions in the Mediterranean, the Near East and Sub-Saharan
Africa will most likely be negatively affected. Lower and more erratic rainfall will affect not only crops but
also river flows and ground water recharge. Water shortages will grow, creating conflicts between different
groups of users, such as farmers, urban households, and the industry and creating social stress, economic
losses and environmental damage. International disputes over shared rivers may also exacerbate as a
result of more severe droughts.

Better representations of the physical, social and economic effects of droughts are needed in order to help
prepare government agencies become more aware of their actual consequences and more efficient in
coping with them. With these premises in mind, the objectives of the Conference are:

• To compile, analyse and assess existing methods and approaches to better estimate the impacts and

• To present case studies of evaluation of drought impacts and costs of drought and drought preparedness.
• To establish best practices and map case studies in the Mediterranean and Near East on drought risk

• Offer recommendations for drought preparedness and policies that show better performance, efficacy

If you wish to present a paper, please send your abstract (no longer than 150 words) for evaluation by the Scientific Committee before the deadline of 15th October.