Drought puts livelihoods and ecosystems at risk, trapping vulnerable groups in a continuous cycle of poverty. At COP14 held in 2019, Parties to the Convention agreed to “mitigate, adapt to, and manage the effects of drought in order to enhance resilience of vulnerable populations and ecosystems” with a particular focus on ‘prevention’ and ‘preparedness’ via ‘green recovery’. Parties also guided the adoption and subsequent implementation of the Drought Initiative and establishment of an Intergovernmental Working Group on drought which will report its findings and recommendations to Parties at COP.

Learning from the outcomes of the Drought Initiative and the prospects offered by the work of the Intergovernmental Working Group, this high-level round table will provide a timely opportunity to discuss options for a paradigm shift from drought disaster to resilience guiding the way to a new era of proactive drought risk management at all levels.

CIFOR-ICRAF speaker

Tony Simons

Directeur général du Centre mondial d’agroforesterie (ICRAF) et directeur exécutif du CIFOR-ICRAF