Assessing drought hazard and risk: Principles and implementation guidance

This drought risk guidance gives support at various levels of detail. First, a foundation with key definitions and aspects of drought risk assessments is provided: drought hazard, exposure and vulnerability of sectors susceptible to drought, and drought risk. Next, four guiding principles of drought risk assessments that should be taken into account when designing the overall approach of the drought risk assessment are described:

1. Drought assessment should use a system scale perspective
2. Drought has to be defined and assessed in relation to its impacts
3. Drought risk changes over time
4. Effective drought management should increase resilience and enhance preparedness

​Although this document does not provide detailed advice and guidance on drought management practices, the fourth principle is included because, in most cases, a drought risk assessment will be done to implement or improve existing drought management measures or plans. Just-in-time actions, for instance, require a different approach than setting up a drought forecasting system or implementing long-term drought risk reduction measures. Hence it is important that during a drought risk assessment, the goal and outputs required for implementing drought risk management are kept in mind.

For professionals who require practical guidance while assessing droughts, an implementation guide is included. This part of the document provides practical guidance on how to set up and run a drought risk assessment and at which moments to involve experts.