Droughts in Asian Least Developed Countries: Vulnerability and sustainability

Droughts occur both in developed and developing countries with significant impacts and are exacerbating in frequency, severity and duration. Over exploitation of water resources, weather variability and climate change are mostly responsible for such exacerbation. The impacts of droughts encompass the global ecosystem as a whole but vary from region to region. Least developed countries (LDCs) are becoming the worst sufferer of the impacts due to physical, social and economic as well as knowledge and skills differences. The increasing biophysical vulnerability contexts and intensity in the Asian LDCs causing adverse effects on food security, human health, biodiversity, water resources, hydroelectric power generation, streams, perennial springs, and livelihood. Drought is also responsible for increasing pollution, pests and diseases and forced migration…