India calls for shift from drought response to drought resilience at UNCCD CoP17

Ulaanbaatar, Aug 25: India has called for a fundamental shift in the global approach to drought, from reactive relief and crisis management to proactive, technology-enabled resilience, at the 17th Conference of Parties (CoP17) of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) in Mongolia.

Addressing the Ministerial Dialogue on ‘Accelerating Drought Resilience’, Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Bhupender Yadav said drought was “no longer an occasional event, but a defining development challenge”, affecting water security, food systems, biodiversity and economic stability.

Yadav highlighted India’s coordinated, multi-institutional approach integrating early warning, mitigation, relief and community resilience. He said rainfall monitoring and satellite-based drought assessments trigger preparedness at the inter-ministerial and State levels, helping prevent dry spells from escalating into crises.

Emphasising the link between land and water, the Minister said, “restore the forest, before the flow”, highlighting India’s focus on catchment and riverscape forestry to reduce erosion, improve water retention and recharge groundwater.

He said river rejuvenation and revival of traditional water bodies were also strengthening water security and rural drought resilience.

The Minister highlighted community-led restoration of springs and recharge zones in India’s hills, while a pan-India watershed programme in the plains addresses degraded rainfed lands through a ridge-to-valley approach. These efforts are supported by community institutions and convergence with rural employment programmes.

At the household level, drinking water programmes seek to ensure reliable supplies during periods of water stress through assured service levels, local quality testing and prioritisation of vulnerable areas, he said.

Yadav also highlighted crop insurance as a mechanism to protect farmers against drought and other non-preventable losses across the crop cycle. The scheme combines subsidised premiums with technology-driven assessment for faster and more transparent claim settlement.

He stressed that community ownership, capacity building and livelihood diversification were central to the transition from reactive relief to proactive resilience.

“Drought must be managed as a predictable, preventable risk, and not a recurring disaster demanding emergency response,” Yadav said.

He called for stronger global action through greater investment in ecosystem restoration, stronger early warning systems and coordinated efforts to build drought resilience.

“Preparedness over response, prevention over crisis management, resilience over recovery should be the goal,” the Minister said.

Yadav concluded that building drought resilience was not optional for the world’s most vulnerable populations but a matter of survival. He also affirmed India’s readiness to share its knowledge and capacities, including in early warning systems, to support a drought-resilient future.