Page - (000319) - in Evaluating Climate Change Action for Sustainable Development

beyondthecontrolof theDroughtNLTAandintothehowtheprograminfluences its partners and stakeholders. The evidence organized through the PM&E approach shows that the Drought NLTA initiative was able to convene key-regional and federal level multi-sector stakeholders at a decisivemoment, resulting in an unprecedented bottom-up and regionally-led collaboration. Through the engagement and commitment of the partners, the program linked and promoted coordinated and continuous sharing of knowledge, data, andwork between service providers, secretariats,municipalities andother stakeholders fromdistinct sectors, states, andgovernmental levels.Thus, it influencedprogress towardsovercomingsomeof thehistoricalchallenges related to droughtmanagement inBrazil. 17.2 Background Drought, or in Portuguese, “seca”, is a not a new phenomenon to the Brazilian society, especially for those living in theNortheast semi-arid regionof thecountry. The average annual rainfall in the area is roughly 800 mm per year and is characterizednotonlyby theminimal rainfall, butalsoby the timingof the rainfall (i.e., the rain typically falls only during a concentrated portion of the year). Historically, severe droughts have occurred in the Brazilian semi-arid. The semi- arid region, or the sert~ao is an area that reaches across nine Northeast states, covering an area of approximately 982,560 km2, and includes more than 1,000 municipalities and22million inhabitants. Tocombat drought,Brazil, likemanynations, has invested in solutions suchas increased emergency lines of credit, renegotiationof agricultural debts, expansion of social support programs, (e.g., cash transfer programs to poor families and farmers in the case of crop losses or lack of water to support plantings), and water truck deliveries of emergency drinking water to rural communities. These measures havehelped tomitigate themoredramatic effects of drought, that in the past includednotonlyeconomiclossesbutalsostarvation,diseases,death, lossesof crops and animals, migration, pillage, and migrations. To date, however, few initiatives have been focused on adopting a long-term approach to avoid drought related losses and to promote amore resilient society. This traditional approach to managing droughts around the world is often referred to as the “hydro-illogical” cycle (Wilhite 2011), characterized by the adoptionofemergencymeasureswhen thedroughthits that arequicklyabandoned as the drought fades (alongwith the fading of decisionmakers’memories of the need to bebetter prepared for the next one). More severe droughts are expected to happen in theBrazilian semi-arid region with climate change and increasing demand for water resources (World Bank 2014a). The most recent one, began in 2010, and has been progressing and persisting through 2015. Considered the worst drought in decades, it is costing billions of Brazilian reais for emergency and structural actions and has led to 17 Drought PreparednessPolicies andClimateChangeAdaptation andResilience. . . 307