International Conference Center, Geneva Switzerland
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Contact: Roger Pulwarty
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PSL Researchers Part of US Delegation to International Meeting on Creating Drought Resilient Societies
March 18, 2013
Last week, Roger Pulwarty, Director of NOAA's National Integrated Drought Information System, and Physical Sciences Laboratory researchers Bill Neff and Robert Webb worked with the State Department and US Delegates representing international scientific collaboration on drought and water scarcity. Following a three-day international scientific workshop on drought, early warning systems, impacts and societal response, in which NOAA played a leadership role, the World Meteorological Organization, and other United Nations and participating institutions issued a Final Declaration linking drought science, monitoring, and preparedness at international, regional and national levels.
The High-Level Meeting on National Drought Policy (HMNDP): Towards More Drought Resilient Societies was held 11-15 March 2013 in Geneva, Switzerland and sponsored by the World Meteorological Organization. Its purpose was to provide practical insight into useful, science-based actions to address the key drought issues being considered by governments and the private sector under the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification and the various strategies to cope with drought. National governments must adopt policies that engender cooperation and coordination at all levels of government in order to increase their capacity to cope with extended periods of water scarcity in the event of a drought. The ultimate goal is to create more drought resilient societies.
The PSL researchers helped in the negotiation of the declaration in the role of science experts. In addition, Dr. Pulwarty, a member of the international organizing committee, gave a talk on drought monitoring, early warning and information systems. Drs. Neff and Webb presented information on hydroclimatic extremes and their relationship between droughts and drought-ending extreme weather events.