Платформа знаний о семейных фермерских хозяйствах

Towards a framework for the economic assessment of drought risk

An ecosystems approach

Drought risk is a combination of the probability of extended dry periods and the consequences for people, communities and their environment. The management of drought risk seeks to reduce the impacts of droughts, either by reducing their probability of occurrence (mitigation) or their consequences (adaptation). The paper shows how an ecosystems framework can be used to assess the diverse effects of droughts. This recognises the relationships between stocks of natural capital, such as land and water, and the services that they provide to support human endeavour, prosperity and wellbeing. Droughts disrupt these relationships, reducing the flow of services to society. Droughts have negative effects on a range of ecosystems services, namely: "provisioning" services (such as food production and water supply), "regulating" services (such as local climate and hydrological processes), "cultural" services (such as heritage, landscapes, and amenity) and "supporting" services (such as natural habitats and soil formation). Indeed, droughts also degrade the stock of natural resources such that their capacity to generate future flows of benefits is damaged. The paper shows how an ecosystems framework can help to classify the type and magnitude of impacts attributable to droughts, provide a basis for economic valuation, assess the social, geographical and temporal distribution of impacts, and identify major sources of uncertainty and vulnerability. The framework can also be used to inform cost-effective policies on drought management, recognising that a precautionary approach is required where data and methods are not able to provide robust economic assessments.

Title of publication: Options Méditerranéennes : Série A. Séminaires Méditerranéens
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Выпуск: 95
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Число страниц: 139-148
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Автор: J. Morris
Другие авторы: A. Graves, A. Daccache, T. Hess, J. Knox
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Год: 2010
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Категория: Газетная статья
Язык контента: English
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