Jakarta (VNA) - The United Nations Economic and Social Commission forAsia and the Pacific (ESCAP) and Association of South-East Asian Nations(ASEAN) have released the Ready for the Dry Years: Building Resilience toDrought in Southeast Asia report.

In the joint op-ed, Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana, Under-Secretary-General of theUnited Nations and Executive Secretary of ESCAP, and Dato Lim Jock Hoi, Secretary-Generalof ASEAN, held that South-East Asia has long endured severe droughts, whichoccur on average every five years.

The prolonged 2015 and 2018 droughts were the worst on record for two decades.They simultaneously affected more than 70 percent of the land area, with over325 million people exposed. No ASEAN member States was spared from thedevastating impacts including the disruption to livelihoods and food security,as well as forest fires and haze.

The drivers of drought risk in South-East Asia are inherently complex, resultingin considerable year-to-year variations. Drought is heavily influenced byvarious climatic drivers, mainly the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) andIndian Ocean Dipole (IOD). Yet, despite this complexity, clear trends point toan intensifying drought risk across the region.

New analysis of observed data and climate projections in the second edition ofReady for the Dry Years: Building Resilience to Drought in Southeast Asia, ajoint report by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia andthe Pacific (ESCAP) and Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) revealsa statistically significant increase in temperature from 1981-2020, that isexpected to continue. This means that drought severity will increase as theclimate gets warmer.

This urgency has been enhanced by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has convergedwith the climate crisis. Both disasters have simultaneously disrupted people’shealth, livelihoods and supply chains across the region. These compoundingimpacts have led to severe economic stress and undermined the ability of theregion to deal with current and future disaster risks. It is crucial that weunderstand how recurrent droughts and the current pandemic are interacting, toidentify appropriate policies that can address these crises simultaneously.

ASEAN and ESCAP are working together to prevent the destructive impacts ofdroughts by promoting a paradigm shift towards more adaptive drought riskmanagement and governance. This cooperation is anchored in a forward-looking,science-based approach to drought risks. The adaptive policy interventions mustsupport the most vulnerable and those furthest behind in the region.

The latest evidence shows that 15 to 25 percent of the region’s populationlives in drought hotspots, with low levels of socio-economic development andhigh exposure to recurring droughts. Targeted policy interventions in theseareas will be essential to prevent the cumulative impacts of recurringdroughts, which over time, pose a serious threat to hard-won development gains,particularly the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.

These interventions must follow three clear policy tracks to reduce and preventdroughts from occurring; prepare and respond to droughts when they happen; andrestore and recover after a drought has passed. Accordingly, they should covera wide range of policy areas, from the management of food, water and energysystems, to the implementation of early warning systems and drought riskfinancing.

Governments should capitalise on several opportunities to meet this challenge.Firstly, the cyclical and slow-onset nature of drought provides time for us totake risk-informed actions now, to prevent a drought hazard from becoming acrisis.

Secondly, governments can benefit from ASEAN’s extensive experience andexpertise through greater regional cooperation, driven by ASEAN’s agenda ondrought and the newly adopted ASEAN Declaration on the Strengthening of theAdaptation to Drought.

Thirdly, the COVID-19 pandemic offers an opportunity to act now to reduce theimpacts of future droughts, by incorporating measures to build resilience intoCOVID-19 recovery stimulus packages.

“The latest developments in science and technology will underpin the successfulscale up of drought management interventions. ASEAN member States must takeconcrete steps now to strengthen national and regional drought monitoring andimprove our understanding of the causes of drought. It is now more vital thanever for the region to build resilience to drought. By working together, we canmitigate the impact of future droughts and ensure that the entire ASEANCommunity will be ready for the dry years ahead,” said the report.

On this note, strong partnerships between the United Nations, ASEAN andnational governments and other stakeholders are essential to deal with theincreasingly complex and uncertain extreme weather and climate situations alongwith the impacts of transnational slow-onset disaster risks.

“ASEAN and the United Nations have enjoyed fruitful cooperation throughimplementation of the Comprehensive Partnership and the Plan of Action. Thisjoint ASEAN-ESCAP work has reflected our cooperation and partnership for thebenefit of our peoples.”./.