Drought preparedness in Brazil

Abstract

Large portions of Brazil0s Northeast have experienced an intense and prolonged drought for the majority of2010–2013. This drought, along with other droughts that have hit the South in recent years, has sparked anew round of discussions to improve drought policy and management at the federal and state levels.To assist with these efforts, the World Bank recently conducted a series of evaluations on national and sub-national drought preparedness measures and approaches acrossfive country case studies. This particulararticle presents the Brazilian case study. The work draws from interviews with key experts and stakeholders,as well as document analyses, and focuses on preparedness measures and approaches at the national andone sub-national case; the state of Ceará. The analysis shows that although there is a rich history of droughtmanagement throughout Brazil, there are short-term and long-term gaps and opportunities on whichdecision makers might consider focusing to improve monitoring, forecasting, and early warning systems,vulnerability/resilience and impact assessments, and mitigation and response planning measures.