Drought in Arid and Semi-Arid Regions

Offering a cross-country examination and comparison of drought awareness and experience, this book shows how scientists, water managers, and policy makers approach drought and water scarcity in arid and semi-arid regions of Spain, Mexico, Australia, South Africa and the United States. Efficiently mitigating or coping with the effects of drought requires an understanding of the biophysical aspects of drought, including the hydrologic and ecologic elements, as well as the technical, economic, and policy aspects.  Therefore, the editors have gathered an international group of expert contributors from a wide span of disciplines, including agronomy, ecology, economics, hydrology and irrigation technology. The book arises from a 2010 conference entitled International Drought Symposium: Integrating Science and Policy, which was organized by the Water Science and Policy Center at the University of California-Riverside. The contents are organized in broad sections: Agronomy, Irrigation Technology, and Water Supply; Ecological Impacts of Drought; Hydrology and Water Resource Systems; Economic Considerations and Drought and Water Management and Policy. The concluding section provides an in-depth comparison of drought experiences, descriptions and methods highlighting different approaches and experiences from integral disciplines across a multitude of countries. It is the editors' intention to enhance our understanding of the ways that physical, institutional and economic factors impact the effectiveness of one policy instrument relative to another. Drought in Arid and Semi-Arid Regions: A Multi-Disciplinary and Cross-Country Perspective goes a long way toward improving our fundamental understanding of the interactions between physical impacts of drought, and the effectiveness of mitigation policies on the economic consequences of droughts.