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Drought triggers and declarations: science and policy considerations for drought risk management

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Abstract

This paper explores the value of triggers and declarations in the management of drought, bringing together two disciplinary perspectives, those of the public policy scholar and the climate scientist. These two perspectives highlight the complexity of the development and use of triggers in drought risk management by drawing on the experience of the United States, which has the most sophisticated system of drought triggers in the world, and that of Australia that has the most developed and longest standing national drought policy based on principles of risk management. The paper explores the advantages and disadvantages of triggers in managing drought, concluding that triggers are useful risk management tools at the individual level but become problematic and can lead to perverse outcomes when linked to some forms of government support programs.

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Notes

  1. For further information on the policy debates around Australia’s water policy, see the Proposed Plan for the Murray Darling Basin published by the Murray Darling Basin Authority at http://www.mdba.gov.au/draft-basin-plan/draft-basin-plan-for-consultation. Also relevant is the work of the National Water Commission in implementing the National Water Initiative (http://nwc.gov.au/).

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported under Australian Research Council’s Discovery Projects funding scheme (project number DP1096759).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Business, Government & Law, University of Canberra, Canberra, ACT, 2601, Australia

    Linda Courtenay Botterill

  2. National Drought Mitigation Center, University of Nebraska, PO Box 830988, Lincoln, NE, 68583-0988, USA

    Michael J. Hayes

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  1. Linda Courtenay Botterill
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  2. Michael J. Hayes
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Correspondence to Linda Courtenay Botterill.

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Botterill, L.C., Hayes, M.J. Drought triggers and declarations: science and policy considerations for drought risk management. Nat Hazards 64, 139–151 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-012-0231-4

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