constructing a framework for national drought policy : the way forward in mexico

Constructing a Frameworkfor National Drought Policy:The Way Forward in Mexico

David Korenfeld Federman(General Director of

the National Water Commission of Mexico)

High-level Meeting on National Drought Policy (HMNDP)Towards More Drought Resilient Societies

13 March 2013Geneva, Switzerland 1

David Korenfeld, Comisión Nacional del Agua, México

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Mexico: vulnerable to droughts due to its geographic location

Mexico´s North latitude

Mexico´s South latitude

Tropic of

Tropic of CancerArabian desertSahara desert


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Severity IndexMeteorologic drought

Tropic of Cancer

Mexico has an area of 1 964 375 km²; 105 million inhabitants; and 66% of its territory is desert or semidesert.

LightIntenseVery intenseSevereVery severeExtremely severe


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During last decade droughts have been recurrent, and in the last two years they have intensified

Percentage of surface affected by drought in Mexico %

D0 Abnormally Dry D1 Drought-Moderate D2 Drought-Severe D3 Drought-Extreme D4 Drought-Exceptional


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North American Drought Monitor

SimbologyState limitlines of impact


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Reactive approachTraditionally Mexico has acted with emergency assistance programs after drought:

• water or food supply,• financing and indemnification,• projects or infrastructure for relief, etc.

2011 2012 2013Jan Apr Jul Oct Jan Apr Jul Oct Jan

2011-2012: the most severe droughtsince 1941 in the North and center of Mexico


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January, 2012.

The President of Mexico ordered the formulation of the National Drought Program.

The National Water Commission (Conagua) will design and conduct this Program (PRONACOSE).


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“A … measure I want to announce here in Zacatecas, isthe creation of a National Drought Program, whose main component is, first, the early warning, …, and second, to provide for early action, so to forecast, prevent and respond promptly to any weather contingencies that will affect the population or farm productivity. For this purpose, … the National Water Commission, in coordination with other agencies of the Government of the Republic will fix very clear which are the preventive actions that will allow timely decisions to prevent and to mitigate the effects of drought. … Conagua to agree with local authorities the needed programs and actions to meet specific conditions in each State of the country.”

Speech by the President of Mexico, Enrique Peña Nieto, in Zacatecas on January 10, 2013


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Mexico´s National Drought Programfor 2013-2018

has a comprehensive approachin several ways:


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1) The National Drought Program includes both:

Prevention Mitigation•Estimate resources, •Define actions, •Construct organization

•Reduce impacts on people, goods, infrastructure, activities, as well as on the environment.


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2) The National Drought Program enhances:Forecasting, Early warning and data Dissemination•Periodic collection and analysis of data:

hidrometric,climatic,reservoirs,drought location and stages

•Spreading drought information so to guide the implementation of actions

Stage Description Criterium Probability %0 No drought SDI ≥ 0.0 501 Light -1.0 ≤ SDI < 0.0 34.12 Moderated -1.5 ≤ SDI <-1.0 9.23 Intense -2.0 ≤ SDI < 1.5 4.44 Extreme SDI < -2.0 2.3


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3) The National Drought Program exhorts:

• Federal, State and Municipal coordination (joint programs and resources)

• Water users involvement (information, voluntary reduction, efficiencies)


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4) The National Drought Program promotes:

• A drought plan for each of the 26 basin councils throughout the country

• Plans for major Water Users (specific actions for: water utilities, irrigation districts, industrial parks)

(+designed and implementated by them: authorities and users +based on local specificities of each region)


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5) The National Drought Program is locally implemented:

Water users and authorities within each basin council will define triggers and characteristics of agreed actions, based on Conagua´s information about drought evolution.

At the begining, a range or menu of several voluntary measures are expected to bring major volume economies,but eventually mandatory measures could be neccesary, with the colaboration of society.


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6) The National Drought Program, whose monitor and follow up is through:

• An Interagency Commission* and

• a Committee of Experts

in charge of review, inform, enrich, and support.

---------*A total of 12 Federal Agencies: Presidency, Conagua, Minitry of the Interior, Foresty, Farm Production and Rural Development, Economy, Energy, Health, National Defense, Education, Social Development, Tourism.


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Stakeholders will together:

BEFORE DURING Drought AFTER

• design the actions to reduce vulnerability

• i m p l e m e n t

• set a coordination structure to address drought

• evaluate to get abetter plan, andrestore conditions

BASIN COUNCILS PLANS FOR DROUGHT


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Challenges• The water users and government agencies adoption of a new

water culture and strategy which comprises the prevention, planning and evaluation of the drought plans as the main asset to face a recurrent natural phenomena.

• Alignment of the federal, state and local fund programs to the directives of the drought plans. In a climate change scenario should be the baseline for the National Development Plan and the framework for a new National Civil Protection System.

• The funding of Mexico´s vulnerability reduction to drought. An option is to access the world Climate Change Adaptation Funds.

• A drought communication strategy from the beginning is also critical for the acceptance of the drought measures and for the real evaluation of the success or failure of the Program

The main interest of Mexico:

• To guarantee the permanency of the drought planning and implementation for the future.

• To manage real social involvement in the

development and implementation of the drought measures on a permanent basis.

• The reduction of drought vulnerability as one cornerstone of the Mexican strategy for climate change adaptation in compliance with the Climate Change General Law and the National Water Law.

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2018 forward suggestions 1. 2013 first planning phase of the Program should be

completed

2. 2014 - 2016 implementation evaluation

3. 2017 another planning exercise and the issuing of new developed and improved basin and major water users plans for 2018 and onwards.

4. With a strong governance support: a new National Civil Protection System and with the Climate Change and Water Laws mechanisms and instruments.


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Thank you all for your kind interest

[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

constructing a framework for national drought policy : the way forward in mexico

Documents

comisin nacional

effects of drought

drought resilient societies

president of mexico

center of mexico

program pronacose

early warning

mxico percentage of