22. Integrated Basin Development for Drought Management

The perspective of integrated basin development for drought management differs from some of the traditional drought management schemes which concentrate only on administrative scale. The integrated basin development and management not only deals with the sustainable development and optimum use of water resources but also the capability and suitability of land and vegetation resources to be managed for the production of goods and services. A river basin serves as a logical and practical unit for analysis, planning and management of multiple water resources and associated problems. With the perspective of a river basin and a clear awareness of the linkages between uplands and downstream areas of the basin, it may be possible to plan and develop longterm, sustainable solutions to be problems of drought and, at the same time avoid environmental degradation. However, it should not leave an impression that basin development and management only comes into play when the problems of drought arise. Further, the planning strategies developed considering basin as a single unit can be transferred to administrative units with the help of geographical information system based decision support systems to inculcate actual benefits. In this paper different kinds of droughts based on the various hydrological and hydrometeorological variables are defined. Furthermore, the problems of drought in India are highlighted. The obstacles in effective planning of drought are discussed. The drought management strategies covering various measures to increase the supply and reduction of demands are described. It is proposed to develop a decision support system for planning the drought management strategies. Such systems are useful for the decision-makers to minimise the impacts of drought on the economics and the society.