National Contingency Plan for Drought.

The National Contingency Plan for Drought is a multi-sectoral plan prepared in 2015 with the purpose of minimizing drought impacts by improving institutional coordination; enhancing monitoring and early warning capabilities; water shortage impact assessments; and preparedness, response, and recovery programs. The plan identifies an integrated, regional approach to addressing drought, drought action levels, and appropriate institutional responses as drought conditions change.
The plan mirrors the FAO Strategic Objective#5: Increase the resilience of livelihoods to disasters. In response to the recent drought and famine cases the MIDIMAR has prepared in partnership with key government and non-government institutions this drought contingency plan to take immediate, mid and long-term actions to manage the crisis. The plan contains strategies and actions that national institutions may take to mitigate, prepare for, respond to, and recover from droughts. Some components of this plan may be applied to water shortage events that occur in the absence of a drought. Specific drought mitigation activities will be initiated for each drought cycle phase in order to support livelihoods and minimize depletion of assets.
Regarding governance, the plan establishes that an Interagency Drought Task Force (Task Force) will be convened to provide coordination among agencies and it will work under the existing national disaster management technical committee. The Task Force will be chaired by the MIDIMAR with assistance from MINAGRI, RAB and WASAC mainly. However, local government, water agency, and individual actions are usually the first line of drought response before impacts become severe and reach emergency level.