Publication Date

1997

Description

Australia’s National Drought Policy was ratified by the Commonwealth (Federal), State and Territory governments in 1992. However, a sequence of El Niño-based events that started in Queensland in 1991 culminated in much of Australia experiencing abnormally low rainfall throughout 1994 and into 1995. Many farmers experienced substantial loss of income. The Commonwealth government therefore devised measures to determine which areas had been exposed to exceptional drought so that financial assistance could be directed as effectively as possible. In this paper we discuss progress in developing regionally-sensitive indicators and methodologies to aid in future assessments of drought exceptional circumstances.

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Objective Indicators for Monitoring Drought in Grasslands

Australia’s National Drought Policy was ratified by the Commonwealth (Federal), State and Territory governments in 1992. However, a sequence of El Niño-based events that started in Queensland in 1991 culminated in much of Australia experiencing abnormally low rainfall throughout 1994 and into 1995. Many farmers experienced substantial loss of income. The Commonwealth government therefore devised measures to determine which areas had been exposed to exceptional drought so that financial assistance could be directed as effectively as possible. In this paper we discuss progress in developing regionally-sensitive indicators and methodologies to aid in future assessments of drought exceptional circumstances.