The African Drought Observatory (ADO) has a clear focus on the testing and implementation of existing and developed methodologies on drought monitoring and forecasting. The primary aim of the ADO project is to develop a framework for the provision of early warning and response to mitigate the impact of droughts in Africa. The project has three key targets:

• 1. Improved monitoring: by improving knowledge on drought forecasting, warning and mitigation, and advancing the understanding of climate related vulnerability to drought - both in the current and in the projected future climate.
• 2. Prototype operational forecasting: by bringing advances made in the project to the pre-operational stage through development of prototype systems and piloting methods in operational drought monitoring and forecasting agencies. The piloting of methods in an operational context is not necessarily done during the lifetime of the project.
• 3. Knowledge dissemination: through a stakeholders platform that includes national and regional drought monitoring and forecasting agencies, as well as NGO's and IGO's, and through capacity building programmes to help embed the knowledge gained in the community of African practitioners and researchers.

Partners: