[Excerpts from WGA Website and Draft Report]
The Western Governors' Association (WGA) is seeking comment through March 1, 2004 on the draft report, A Drought Early Warning System for the 21st Century: The National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS). The NIDIS report is being developed under a partnership between WGA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and is currently planned to be presented to the Governors during the WGA Annual Meeting in June 2004 for their consideration and approval.

According to the draft report, "Recent trends toward increased climate variability amplify the need to formulate and implement a monitoring and forecasting system to assess drought risk and to facilitate subsequent natural resource management decisions in real-time and before the onset of drought."

National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS) Vision: A dynamic and accessible drought information system that provides users with the decision support tools needed in preparing for and mitigating the impacts of drought.

NIDIS Goals
NIDIS is intended to accomplish the following goals:
• Develop the leadership and partnerships to ensure successful implementation of an integrated national drought monitoring and forecasting system;
• Create a drought “early warning system” that provides accurate, reliable, timely, and integrated information on drought conditions at the relevant spatial scale, in order to facilitate proactive decisions that minimize the economic, social and ecosystem losses associated with drought;
• Foster a research environment that focuses on impact mitigation and improved predictive capabilities;
• Provide an “Internet gateway” with easily comprehensible and standardized
products (databases, forecasts, GIS-based products, maps, etc.);
• Provide a framework to communicate, interact, and educate those affected by
drought on how and why droughts occur, and how they impact human and natural systems.

Comments may be submitted online (preferred), via email, regular mail, or fax. (Please see the link beow for further information.)

WGA Draft Report Web Page

[If you come across news of regional interest, please email to asebring@emforum.org or submit via our Feedback Form.]