Urban drought challenge to 2030 sustainable development goals

Xiang Zhang; Nengcheng Chen; Hao Sheng; Chris Ip; Long Yang; Yiqun Chen; Ziqin Sang; Tsegaye Tadesse; Tania Pei Yee Lim; Abbas Rajabifard; Cristina Bueti; Linglin Zeng; Brian Wardlow; Siqi Wang; Shiyi Tang; Zhang Xiong; Deren Li; Dev Niyogi

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.07.342

Urban drought challenge to 2030 sustainable development goals

Sci Total Environ. 2019 Nov 25:693:133536. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.07.342. Epub 2019 Jul 22.

Authors

Xiang Zhang¹, Nengcheng Chen², Hao Sheng³, Chris Ip⁴, Long Yang⁵, Yiqun Chen⁶, Ziqin Sang⁷, Tsegaye Tadesse⁸, Tania Pei Yee Lim⁹, Abbas Rajabifard⁶, Cristina Bueti⁴, Linglin Zeng¹⁰, Brian Wardlow⁸, Siqi Wang¹, Shiyi Tang¹, Zhang Xiong¹¹, Deren Li¹², Dev Niyogi¹³

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory of Information Engineering in Surveying, Mapping, and Remote Sensing (LIESMARS), Wuhan University, Wuhan 430079, China.
² State Key Laboratory of Information Engineering in Surveying, Mapping, and Remote Sensing (LIESMARS), Wuhan University, Wuhan 430079, China. Electronic address: cnc@whu.edu.cn.
³ State Key Laboratory of Software Development Environment, School of Computer Science and Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, China. Electronic address: shenghao@buaa.edu.cn.
⁴ International Telecommunication Union (ITU), 1211 Geneva 20, Switzerland.
⁵ School of Geography and Ocean Science, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China.
⁶ Melbourne School of Engineering, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3010, Australia; Department of Infrastructure Engineering, Centre for SDIs and Land Administration (CSDILA), Melbourne School of Engineering, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3010, Australia.
⁷ State Key Laboratory of Optical Communication Technologies and Networks, China Information Communication Technologies Group Corporation, Wuhan 430074, China.
⁸ National Drought Mitigation Center, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE 68583, USA.
⁹ United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat), Nairobi 00100, Kenya.
¹⁰ College of Resources and Environment, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China.
¹¹ State Key Laboratory of Software Development Environment, School of Computer Science and Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, China.
¹² State Key Laboratory of Information Engineering in Surveying, Mapping, and Remote Sensing (LIESMARS), Wuhan University, Wuhan 430079, China; Collaborative Innovation Center of Geospatial Technology, Wuhan 430079, China.
¹³ Department of Agronomy-Crops, Soil, Environmental Science, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA; Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA.

PMID: 31374498
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.07.342

Abstract

In the first two decades of the 21st century, 79 global big cities have suffered extensively from drought disaster. Meanwhile, climate change has magnified urban drought in both frequency and severity, putting tremendous pressure on a city's water supply. Therefore, tackling the challenges of urban drought is an integral part of achieving the targets set in at least 5 different Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Yet, the current literatures on drought have not placed sufficient emphasis on urban drought challenge in achieving the United Nations' 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. This review is intended to fill this knowledge gap by identifying the key concepts behind urban drought, including the definition, occurrence, characteristics, formation, and impacts. Then, four sub-categories of urban drought are proposed, including precipitation-induced, runoff-induced, pollution-induced, and demand-induced urban droughts. These sub-categories can support city stakeholders in taking drought mitigation actions and advancing the following SDGs: SDG 6 "Clean water and sanitation", SDG 11 "Sustainable cities and communities", SDG 12 "Responsible production and consumption", SDG 13 "Climate actions", and SDG 15 "Life on land". To further support cities in taking concrete actions in reaching the listed SDGs, this perspective proposes five actions that city stakeholders can undertake in enhancing drought resilience and preparedness:1) Raising public awareness on water right and water saving; 2) Fostering flexible reliable, and integrated urban water supply; 3) Improving efficiency of urban water management; 4) Investing in sustainability science research for urban drought; and 5) Strengthening resilience efforts via international cooperation. In short, this review contains a wealth of insights on urban drought and highlights the intrinsic connections between drought resilience and the 2030 SDGs. It also proposes five action steps for policymakers and city stakeholders that would support them in taking the first step to combat and mitigate the impacts of urban droughts.

Keywords: Drought; Resilience; SDGs; Sustainability; Urban.

Publication types

Review