Page - (000323) - in Evaluating Climate Change Action for Sustainable Development

impact assessment; and (c) mitigation and response planning and management. Fully and properly implemented, the pillars intend to contribute to better drought preparedness andbuildgreater climatechange resilience,withpotential impacts in a diversity of sectors (e.g., water and sanitation, agriculture, environment, and disaster risk management), and reach a broad community of beneficiaries. Figure 17.2 provides anoverviewof the three pillars framework. Elements of all the threepillars of drought preparedness are present in both the DroughtNLTAtracks (theNortheastRegionalPilotTrackandtheNationalTrack). The pillar that advanced more with the implementation of this Drought NLTA program was the first one, the monitoring and early warning pillar (essentially represented by the DM), followed by the third one, the mitigation and response planning andmeasures pillar (representedmainly by theDPPs). The Drought NLTA implementation activities include trainings, workshops, fieldvisits, study tours, andvariousmeetings in andoutsideBrazil,withparticipa- tion and guidance from numerous Brazilian national experts, and international partners, such as the National Drought Mitigation Center/US Drought Monitor (that collaborates closelywith the initiative) -, theGovernment ofMexico (partic- ularlyCona´gua– theNationalWaterCommission) and several academicand local water utility partners fromSpain, amongst others. In these exchanges, stakeholders gather to learn, share their knowledge, com- municate developments, set uppriorities andagreeupon responsibilities and insti- tutional arrangements the program’s phases and initiatives. TheWBteamprovides guidance, technical assistance,mobilization, communi- cation, and convening services to help frame the conversation and keep the momentum of the paradigm shift, especially during potentially distracting moments, such as the October 2014 presidential and state government elections and the 2014WorldCup. Fig.17.2 The ‘threepillars ofdroughtpreparedness’ that serveas theguiding framework for the DroughtNLTA 17 Drought PreparednessPolicies andClimateChangeAdaptation andResilience. . . 311