Drought is not just absence of rain.

Nearly all western European countries are suffering from drought this summer. France, Italy, Germany,… Droughts are among the greatest threats to sustainable development. Number of droughts has increased about 29% since 2000. Now, no country is immune to drought, which makes the possibility of lack of water for agriculture, and even extreme drink water shortages, a scary reality. According to UNICEF, 1 in 4 children will be living in areas with strong water scarcity by 2040..

Droughts are becoming more frequent and they are lasting longer which increases the severity of impact among human society and the ecological systems upon which the survival of all life depends. The reasons? Lack of rain, of course, but not only. Land degradation and climate crisis also have a direct impact on the soil capacity to retain water and refuel the underground water. 

Droughts impacts largely underestimated

According to the UN report published in May 2022 called Drought in numbers 2022, the cost of droughts is largely underestimated. In the past century, 45 major droughts events occurred in Europe, affecting millions of people and resulting in more than 27.8 billion USD in economic losses. On human society, consequences are also serious. The effect of severe droughts in India on the gross domestic product was estimated by 2 to 5%. On ecosystems, we know that the percentage of plants affected by droughts has more than doubled in the last 40 years, with about 12 million hectares of land lost each year due to drought and desertification. The example of the summer drought in Europe during summer 2003 is also surprising: photosynthesis in ecosystem was reduced by 30%, which resulted in an estimated net carbon release of 0.5 gigatons.

Restoration for readiness and resilience

Solutions exist and while their implementation may seem costly, the benefits outweigh the costs. The UN estimates that up to 14 trillion USD in production value can be generated globally by adopting sustainable land and water management practices. As an example, small scale vegetable farmers in South-East Asia adopted drip irrigation which enabled the increase of water use efficiency by up to 43% and yield from 8 to 15%. 

And with everything these dats, media matters. A case study of California in 2017 showed that an increase of about 100 drought stories over two months was associated with a reduction of 11 to 18 percent in typical household water-use.

Land restoration increases water infiltration and retention, which in turn increases agricultural production. Soil organic matter (SOM) is a key factor contributing to the water-holding capacity of soil. With just a 1% increase in SOM, up to 10,800 liters more of water per hectare can be retained. 

Regenerative agriculture, agro-forestry, better education on water usage and land restoration are key tools to protect water resources and regenerate hydrological cycles. These tools help reduce the intensity of droughts and their impact. To manage drought risk proactively and build an ecosystem restoration economy that aims to rejuvenate - water cycles, land fertility and people’s livelihoods at the same time.

Author: Delphine Wagner, Communication Manager - Customer Water Segment, Diehl Metering