International effort focuses on stakeholder needs
Drought is one of the costliest and most prevalent natural hazards, resulting in average annual economic losses of $6-8 Billion in the U.S. alone and more than $40B for the worst droughts of the past 25 years.
Drought and its impacts are not confined by any nation's borders. In North America, severe drought during the past several years created concerns about shared water rights not only between states and interests within the U.S., but also between neighboring countries. For example, agriculture and farming interests were affected in Canada, Mexico, and the U.S.; wildfire outbreaks forced firefighting resources to be shared across borders; drought has lowered river and reservoir levels that feed international rivers such as the Rio Grande/Bravo River between the U.S. and Mexico and the Columbia River between the U.S. and Canada; and municipalities were forced to levy water restrictions at various times in many parts of the continent. These concerns make the upcoming virtual North American Drought Monitor (NADM) Forum, running October 20-21, 2022, a vital collaboration between international drought experts and stakeholders.
History of the North American Drought Monitor
In 2001, government officials within the United States, Mexico, and Canada established a partnership to improve drought monitoring on the North American continent and provide decision makers with information essential to planning, mitigation and response. This was accomplished through the initiation, in November 2002, of a North American Drought Monitor (NADM), with biennial NADM workshops held to address drought monitoring issues common to all three countries.
The NADM provides a comprehensive analysis of end-of-month drought conditions through the use of numerous objective drought indices and indicators along with input from contributors at the regional, provincial, and local levels. Mapping tools are also available on the online NADM portal, allowing the visualization of drought in Transboundary River Basins and Transboundary Ecoregions, among other options.
2022 Workshop
On October 20-21, 2022, drought experts across Canada, the United States, and Mexico will join in a virtual conference to discuss North American drought monitoring topics and transnational collaborations. The agenda will include these main themes: technical and scientific aspects, partner organization updates, and user engagement.
Drought monitoring professionals will join government and commercial sector stakeholders, academia, water managers, decision makers, and users of North American drought data (including the North American Drought Monitor/NADM) in all sectors affected by drought, including the agricultural and economic sectors.
Focus on User Requirements
A session on Day 2 (October 21) is specially included for user engagement. This session will provide an opportunity for users to discuss specific topics of interest to them as they pertain to the NADM, drought monitoring across North America, and collaborative/international activities. Users and stakeholders can discuss how the NADM is meeting their needs and, if it isn’t, what can be done to fulfill their requirements. Active participation is encouraged in this session, as it will be an opportunity to hear from the users and stakeholders and receive their feedback, concerns, and needs. All NADM authors will participate in this session.
