Supporting Effective Drought Risk Management in Vulnerable Catchments of Chile > Introduction

Climate variability can have serious social impacts in Chilean drylands, especially for farmers who depend on rain-fed agriculture and on livestock production based on natural vegetation. Over the last 7 years, rainfall amounts have dropped considerably in the central-northern Chile, resulting in a crisis situation for society and a weakening of the economic and social welfare of its population. In order to move away from crisis management, an Agroclimatic Observatory is currently being developed, to enable integrated drought management based on objective indicators that have socio-economic impacts on society. By providing early insights on developing drought conditions, governmental spending to alleviate its impact can be brought forward, increasing the options to strengthen the resilience of communities to cope with droughts.

However, a clear gap was identified in the current capabilities of the Agroclimatic Observatory, related to monitoring and early warning of groundwater scarcity, vulnerability to hydrogeological drought and associated drought impacts. Therefore, foreign experts are involved to strengthen the capacities on groundwater monitoring and early warning with respect to drought hazards.

To view the project proposal click here. To acces the Agroclimatic Observatory click here.