Guyana’s National Drought Mitigation and Adaptation Plan.

The National Drought Mitigation and Adaptation Plan is a national policy with a cross-sectoral approach. The purpose of the policy is to facilitate proactive, coordinated, and effective planning, preparedness, mitigation, adaptation, response, and recovery activities in Guyana in response to drought risks and impacts.
This policy lays down strategies for prevention, mitigation and management of drought and its impacts through the implementation of drought monitoring and early warning system; assessment of drought vulnerability and risk; and measures to limit the impacts of drought and better response to drought. Data infrastructure and management systems will be developed for the collection and analysis of drought-related data in a timely and systematic manner. An organisational structure and delivery system will be provided to ensure information flow between the central and regional levels of government. Gender sensitive approach will be applied in the design and implementation of drought monitoring and early warning systems. The criteria will be established to monitor and track drought emergencies and to activate coordinated mitigation and response activities. Mitigation and adaptation measures will be taken to address vulnerability and reduce drought impacts and risks. The most drought prone areas and vulnerable sectors will be identified. A mechanism will be provided to ensure timely, accurate assessment of drought impacts on the various sectors, such as agriculture, health, and industry. The public and private sector actions will be integrated to reduce the impact of drought on the public and the initiatives taken by stakeholders to respond to droughts will be promoted. Public awareness will be raised through comprehensive public education programme on drought condition, mitigation and adaptation and water conservation actions and the duties and responsibilities of all stakeholders will be outlined with respect to drought. A Farmer Field School will be established to help farmers learn about droughts and improve their production system. A strategy will be developed to address more equitable access to water during shortage and to encourage demand management. Drought preparedness will be strengthened by increasing the number of pressure irrigation systems, establishing the system of water allocation during droughts, and promoting the use of alternative sources of water. Drought initiatives will be encouraged in all climate-dependent and -related sectors to avoid crisis management. Regional Risk Management Team will be established to operationalize the existing Disaster Risk Management Plan. Access to financial resources will be provided to establish disaster risk funds.
A set of procedures will be established to periodically review and revise the National Drought Mitigation and Adaptation Plan in response to the specific needs of the country.