AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL DROUGHT POLICY: LESSONS LEARNED AND RELEVANCE TO U.S. DROUGHT MANAGEMENT AND POLICY

In 1992, Australia's national and state governments agreed the implementation of the country's first National Drought Policy. The policy marked a major paradigm shift from a tradition of treating drought as a natural disaster to a recognition that drought is a normal part of the farmers' operating environment and a risk to be managed. This new approach was particularly dramatic in a country with one of the most variable climates in the world, in which average rainfall is little more than a statistical construct and in which droughts and floods are in many senses more the ‘norm'. The National Drought Policy (NDP) was based on principles of self-reliance and risk management with government intervention to assist in the transition to this new approach and to provide some support in the event of severe drought events.

This paper will discuss how the principles established by the NDP have fared after over a decade of implementation and how political and social factors have led to changes in the focus of the policy. It will draw on this experience to suggest some lessons to be learnt and pitfalls to be avoided in considering drought management in the United States.