Integrated Proactive Drought Management in Hydrosystems and 2 Cities: Building a Nine-Step Participatory Planning Methodology

Abstract

\n Drought is widely known as a complex natural hazard, not just by its climatological features but also by human experiences and socio-economical impacts. Drought preparedness is the only way a society can mitigate effects and better cope with droughts. Here we present a methodological approach to guide the implementation of proactive drought plans, specially designed for hydrossystems and cities scales. We highlight strategies to engage local stakeholders in constructing such plans and build a participatory methodology. The preparedness drought plan methodology was developed and applied to two hydrosystems and two cities located in the Piranhas-Açu river basin, a drought-prone area of Brazilian Semi-arid. Our findings suggest that participatory socio-technical methodologies, built only from the system operators tacit knowledge, can achieve good results when data and resources are limited. Still, results can be enhanced by hydrologic and hydraulic modeling to assess vulnerability, scenarios and strategies. We illustrate and analyze the process by storytelling to develop a meaningful and convincing narrative that speaks to theory and practice, and we provide recommendations to facilitate this approach.