World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought
Since 1995 the 17th of June has been celebrated as the World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought. The event was established by the General Assembly of the United Nation with the main aim promoting public awareness of the issue.
Drought is one of the most costly weather-related natural hazards. Droughts regularly occurred in Europe and had major socio-economic and environmental impacts. For example, the estimated costs of the 2003 drought are about € 8.9 billion.
The day is marked by the European Drought Centre sharing a talk by Henny A.J. Van Lanen, European Drought Centre / Wageningen University with title:
Large-scale drought: a pan-European view of the hazard, impacts and adaptation
See the online video from here
Henny A. J. Van Lanen has published three books on drought, among them Hydrology in a Changing World: Environmental and Human Dimensions (Iahs Publication)- van Lanen is an Associate Professor in hydrology at Wageningen University, Netherlands.
About the European Drought Centre
The European Drought Centre (EDC), active for more than 12 years, is a virtual centre of European drought research and drought management organisations to promote collaboration and capacity building between scientists and the user community.
The long term objective of the centre is to enhance European co-operation in order to mitigate the impacts of droughts on society, economy and the environment. The EDC centre is lead by Professor in hydrology Lena M. Tallaksen, Department og Geosciences, University of Oslo.
More information about the EDC: europeandroughtcentre.com
See also
The researchgroup Hydrology and water Resources, Department of Geosciences