Global Economics of Drought Report
About the project
Drought, a relentless threat to our environment, lives, and economies, is a crisis that cannot be ignored. Major drought events in the past century have claimed the lives of over 10 million people and caused hundreds of billions of USD in economic losses worldwide.
Still, the costs of increased drought are greatly underestimated, leading to inadequate drought preparedness. Despite the clear and present danger, proactive drought management approaches are often lacking, and reactive approaches remain the norm.

Economics of drought: Investing in nature-based solutions for drought resilience - proaction pays
Published by the UNCCD, ELD Initiative and UNU-INWEH the economics of drought report provides vital insights on the economics of drought resilience.
As droughts fueled by human destruction of the environment are projected to affect three in four people by 2050, investing in sustainable land and water management is essential to reduce their costs, which already exceed $307 billion per year globally.
Drawing on a wealth of evidence and case studies from various countries this report makes the economic and business case for nature-based solutions to drought — practices that restore ecosystem functions and soil health to enhance water cycling, storage, and supply in support of human wellbeing — for example, reforestation, grazing management, and the management, restoration and conservation of watersheds.
Case study countries are:
- Australia (implemented by Mulloon Institute)
- Chile (implemented by Corporación Nacional Forestal)
- India (implemented by Watershed Organisation Trust (WOTR))
- Kenya (implemented by IUCN and National Drought Management Authority (NDMA), Kenya)
- Burkina Faso (implemented by CIFOR-ICRAF)
- Spain (implemented by Commonland)
- Tunisia (implemented by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit, GIZ)
The final report was launched at UNCCD COP16, aiming to inform discussions and negotiations of stakeholders and contributing to creating high-level momentum for the global agenda on drought resilience.
> Access the report: Download <
> Access the Executive Summary: Download <
This report is a partnership effort that benefitted from collaboration with WOTR, Mulloon Institute, Commonland, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), National Forest Corperation Chile, The Nature Conservancy, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ), Altus Impact, IUCN, the National Drought Management Authority (NDMA), Kenya and CIFOR-ICRAF Africa office.
The report received generous financial support from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, the European Commission, and the International Drought Alliance (IDRA).