As a result of climate change and direct human interference with hydrological systems, drought events are predicted to increase in both frequency and intensity. These events pose significant threats to socio-ecological systems, aVecting sectors such as agriculture, ecosystem health and public water supply. Drought furthermore aVects both transboundary and national river catchments, making it necessary for management approaches to cross sectoral and federal borders. To prepare for a future shaped by climate change, regions must build up their resilience. A first step towards more drought-resilient socio-ecological systems is the integrated assessment of their current resilience status. However, there is currently no comprehensive and intuitive framework available to assess drought resilience at the regional scale.
This research aims to fill this gap with the creation of an assessment framework that enables decision-makers to evaluate the status quo of drought resilience and prioritise measures to increase it. The framework will be applied in a case study focused on the Dutch-German border region, where it will be also used to evaluate the eVectiveness and eViciency of a set of pilot measures. While expert feedback will be incorporated during the framework's development through interviews, the case study will focus on close interaction with regional stakeholders.
Based on the case-study results, this research will also explore shared and conflicting visions for a drought-influenced future.
People involved
