2022–2025 Southeast Drought Early Warning System Strategic Action Plan

The purpose of the 2022–2025 Southeast Drought Early Warning System (DEWS) Strategic Action Plan is to clearly articulate jointly identified information needs, set priorities for the DEWS network, and suggest measurable actions to improve drought early warning and preparedness for the region.

This Plan is intended to be a resource document that provides a snapshot of the current needs and gaps of drought early warning in the Southeast, and can be used as a standard to objectively measure the alignment of future investments by Southeast DEWS partners with the needs of the region. It is also intended to be a “living document” that can evolve with the changing needs of partners in the region.

This 2022–2025 Southeast DEWS Strategic Action Plan was developed following a series of stakeholder meetings held virtually between October 2020 to March 2021, and an assessment of drought information gaps and needs identified through previous workshops and strategies. The virtual meetings included targeted dialogues around flash drought, agriculture planning, regional coordination, and ecosystem impacts. As a result of these discussions, four priorities and a series of outcomes and actions organized by the five components of a DEWS were identified to guide the work of the Southeast DEWS network over the next five years.