The Advisory Committee (AC) and the Management Committee (MC) constitute the governance structure of the Integrated Drought Management Programme (IDMP). They meet back-to-back at least once a year. Members of the AC/MC are representatives of WMO, GWP, the Support Base Partners and the Financial Partners.
According to the Operational Guidelines of the IDMP, the Advisory Committee has the task of making recommendations to the Management Committee about the development and implementation of the programme. In particular, it reviews the activities carried on by the Technical Support Unit (TSU) and assesses its proposals for the following year. In so doing, it provides indications about the latest scientific and technical advances in drought-related issues.
Following the suggestions formulated by the AC, the Management Committee examines the progress of work, monitors the implementation of the programme and decides on the budget plan for the successive financial period.
Below you can find the main recommendations as well as the complete reports from the AC/MC and related meetings.
AC/MC meetings 2020, 25-26 August (online meetings)
Draft Agenda
IDMP activity report 2019-20
AC/MC meetings 2019, 24-25 August, Stockholm, Sweden
- Ensure that science is at the table when (policy and practice) decisions are made, including developing a more interactive format
- Articulate the avenues how partners can leverage the IDMP
- Explore way forward with Global Drought Information System (GDIS) in context of IDMP and Global Drought Observatory (GDO)
- Develop Impact Stories on the value and impact of IDMP
- Support development of GAR2020 special report on drought
- Publish review publications on pillar 1 and 3
- Research better techniques for capacity development on integrated drought management
- IDMP to participate in WMO Country Support Initiative and partners’ country support initiatives
- Coordinate response to country drought management strategy formulation
Download AC/MC 2019 Meeting Report, documents and presentations.

AC/MC meetings 2018, 25-26 August, Stockholm, Sweden
Main recommendations:
- Ensure links with partners activities, including Regional Climate Centres and regional drought monitoring systems
- Continue to liaise and support where possible with UNCCD Drought Initiative
- Explore developing a forum of actors / Community of Practice working on drought issues based on roster of players in the drought spectrum developed by the IDMP in 2018
- Develop knowledge product on pillar vulnerability and impact assessment, finalize Integrated Drought Management Framework Document and publication on Water Scarcity and Drought, Publish Discussion Paper Benefits of Action – Costs of Inaction
- Contribute to the drought chapter for UNISDR Global Assessment Report (GAR) 2019 and special report on drought for UNISDR for 2020
- Follow-up with IDMP partners not yet included in the Support Base Partners of the HelpDesk and continue to connect with regional and national products and actors on all 3 pillars of integrated drought management.
Download AC/MC 2018 Meeting Report, documents and presentations.
AC/MC meetings 2017, 6-7 September, Geneva, Switzerland
Main recommendations:
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- The IDMP Management Committee approved the new initiatives and strategic direction proposed for the year 2017-2019
- Increase interaction with Regional Climate Centres, conduct a user needs analysis and collaborate with interdisciplinary teams including social scientists, economists, political scientists to distil lessons learned on drought management
- Develop Knowledge products on the pillar mitigation and preparedness and on the pillar vulnerability and impact assessment as well as finalize Integrated Drought Management Framework Document and the Commission for Agricultural Meteorology (CAgM) Drought Expert Team report for IDMP information products
- Benefits of Action – Costs of Inaction (BACI): Publish Discussion Paper, develop further the economic argument for drivers and barriers, and categorization/ prioritization of methods of economic analysis
- Establish a small team/working group on the International Drought Mitigation Research Centre
- Connect the HelpDesk with regional and national products/actors on all three pillars and follow-up with IDMP partners not yet included in the Support Base Partners of the HelpDesk
Download AC/MC 2017 Meeting Report, documents and presentations.
Expert Group Meeting – Benefits of Action/Cost of Inaction for Drought Preparedness, 16 September, Geneva, Switzerland
Main recommendations:
The group recommended to develop the draft literature review prepared for the meeting into an IDMP Working Paper on the subject. It also identified the value of producing a handbook on performance metrics for impact studies based on existing approaches in different sectors that address specifically the socio-economic manifestations of drought. An extended workshop was proposed in order to respond to the knowledge gaps identified in the literature review and by the Expert Group Meeting .
Download the IDMP Expert Group Meeting Report.
AC/MC meetings 2016, 14-15 September, Geneva, Switzerland
Main recommendations:
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- For the HelpDesk, engage already appointed focal points of partners to (a) define support and (b) specify input of organization in Catalogue of Service (description of partners’ expertise);
- Maintain the approach on 3 pillars from the High level Meeting on National Drought Policies (HMDNP): drought monitoring and early warning systems, vulnerability and impact assessment, and preparedness and mitigation actions.
- Finalize IDM Framework Document with strong emphasis that all 3 pillars are part of integrated drought management;
- Develop focus on Vulnerability and Impact Assessment;
- Define relationship with the Associated Programme on Flood Management, considering common ground in relation to disaster risk reduction and the Global Framework on Climate Services.
Download the AC/MC 2016 Meeting Report, Annexes and Presentations.
AC/MC meetings 2015, 9-10 September, Geneva, Switzerland
Main recommendations:
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- Finalize the Handbook on Drought Indices, Integrated Drought Management Framework Document, Costs of Inaction and Benefits of Action, and Series of Case Studies;
- Start a pilot phase to test the HelpDesk based on a Catalogue of Services and partner engagement;
- Continue to enhance cooperation among regional projects and support the development of regional Drought Monitoring Systems for Central and South America;
- Capitalize on the cooperation with actual and new possible partners sharing similar vision, including the finance/insurance industry, with a view to explore suitable funding opportunities;
- Start a new work stream on the benefits of inaction/costs of inaction on Integrated Drought Management.
Download the AC/MC 2015 Meeting Report, Annexes and Presentations.

AC/MC meetings 2014, 9-10 September, Geneva, Switzerland
Main recommendations:
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- Engage with partners to exchange information on drought to further enhance the HelpDesk. Consider the forming of a Technical Review Group/Groups that provide technical review for specific activities and information;
- Continue to implement national and regional initiatives, connecting as much as possible with Partners and their projects, as well as with local stakeholders;
- Consider organizing an international conference on drought management in 2016 (three years after the establishment of the IDMP at the HMNDP) and subsequent international fora with a frequency of two/three years that could become a point of reference for those involved in drought management;
- Include representatives of the regional IDMP programmes in the Advisory Committee as observers.
Download the AC/MC 2014 Report and Annex III.
First AC/MC meetings, 14-15 October 2013, Geneva, Switzerland
Main recommendations:
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- The AC will be supporting IDMP regional initiative, which is currently being implemented in Central and Eastern Europe and other activities in West Africa, the Horn of Africa, Northern Africa and South Asia, which are slated to start in 2014;
- The IDMP will continue working with the Mexican Government in developing the country’s drought programme over the next six years;
- The work plan furthermore foresees the development of tools, publications and technical supporting response to the need identified at the High Level Meeting on National Drought Policy (HMNDP) in 2013.
Download the AC/MC 2013 Report.
Informal Consultation, 4 September 2013, Stockholm, Sweden
Main recommendations:
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- Considering the number of initiatives on drought management already in place, IDMP shall seek to add value to existing activities by addressing gaps and contributing with a platform to share information in order to avoid duplication of efforts;
- IDMP shall work as a country demand-driven instrument that aims to respond to a need for improved drought management;
- Attention needs to be paid to also address the challenges of droughts faced at the basin level, which often goes beyond national boundaries; for this reason, it is important to link up to regional organizations;
- Involving partners shall be a two-way process, in which their contributions to IDMP as well as the contribution of IDMP to their activities reciprocally support each other. Areas where this mutual cooperation could happen are identified in demonstration projects and regional activities.
Download the Summary of the Informal Consultation.
GWP/WMO Preparatory Meeting, 6-7 June 2013, Geneva, Switzerland
Main recommendations:
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- Invitation letter shall be developed and sent from heads of WMO (Michel Jarraud) and GWP (Ania Grobicki) to the potential Support Based Partners (SBPs) to the IDMP;
- An IDMP HelpDesk shall be established, which could use the same technology and approach as the APFM HelpDesk;
- A Management Committee (MC) and an Advisory Committee (AC) shall be formed with a similar scope of work as the committees in the APFM. An ad-hoc Management Committee provides programme oversight until the first official meeting on 14 October 2013;
- GWP shall develop a work programme, which includes goals, indicators, work packages, stakeholders, timelines and costs, in conformity with the result based framework of GWP. IDMP shall center around five work areas: 1) Tools; 2) Capacity building; 3) Demonstration projects; 4) Regional/ national needs – National Drought Policies; 5) Help Desk.
Download the Report of the Preparatory Meeting.