Catalogue of drought risk management measures: A view from the water sector in Serbia

Abstract

Drought impacts are rising worldwide, mostly because of an increase in the severity, frequency and duration of drought events. Water scarcity is one of the direct consequences of drought. A proactive approach based on drought risk management is needed to successfully lessen the vulnerability to droughts. The source of measures selected for a particular river basin in its Drought Management Plan is a Catalogue of drought management measures. One such catalogue is proposed in this paper by extensive literature and documentation review, from the perspective of the water sector. Five groups of measures comprise the catalogue of twenty-six individual measures. The grouping of measures is done according to the tradition of organizing the water sector in Serbia: (1) water systems, (2) green solutions, (3) agriculture-oriented measures, (4) aquatic ecosystems, and (5) non-structural measures. The aim of the paper is to contribute to an existing list of drought risk management measures in the light of activities on the first National Drought Plan, and the next Action plan after 2023 for the implementation of the Water Management Strategy for the Territory of the Republic of Serbia until 2034.