National Drought Plan 2020.

The National Drought Plan 2020 (NDP)for Botswana aims to document the risk of drought and outline a series of approaches and actions that will be taken to prepare for and increase resilience to drought. It will bring together key government agencies and private sector organizations to take a proactive approach to drought management and develop appropriate response actions when drought occurs. The goal of the NDP is to move away from crisis management response and mainstream an active and practical integrated drought response focusing on practices that address underlying causes for the vulnerabilities associated with drought impacts.
The objectives of the drought plan are to: Allow for early drought detection through observation and forecasting; Improve drought response time by assessing drought vulnerability and risk in order to implement measures to limit the impacts; The drought plan should also serve as a critical mitigation action that leads to the formulation and adoption of national drought policies that provide a framework for a proactive, risk-based management for dealing with drought events. The Principles underling the Plan are: equity, precautionary and preventive, sustainable development, informed participation, partnership, healthy ecosystems and sustainable utilization of natural resources
The Plan envisages the following ways forward to deal with the impact of droughts: 1) Drought risk knowledge: Establish a systematic, standardized process to collect, assess and share data, maps and trends on drought and vulnerabilities (Organizational arrangements established; Drought characterized; Community vulnerability assessment; Risks assessment Information stored and accessible). This will improve the adequacy of understanding drought problems especially of natural and nonnatural features of water shortages. 2) Drought monitoring and warning service: Establish an effective drought monitoring and warning service with a sound scientific and technological basis. (Institutional mechanisms established; Monitoring Systems Developed; Forecasting and Warning Systems established; Improve the struggles in forecasting drought characteristics and time and space variability over a region; Sourcing appropriate network for monitoring hydrometeorological variables and water resources conditions). 3) Dissemination and Communication: Develop communication and dissemination systems to ensure people and communities are warned of impending drought events and facilitate national coordination and information exchange. ( Organizational and decision-making processes institutionalized; Effective communication systems and equipment installed; Warning messages recognized and understood). 4) Governance and Institutional Arrangements: Develop institutional, legislative and policy frameworks that support the implementation and maintenance of effective early warning systems. (Early Warning Secured as a long term national and local priority; Legal and Policy Frameworks to support early warnings established; Institutional capacities assessed and enhanced; Financial resources secured).