On October 8, 2025, the Central and Eastern Europe Community of Learning and Practice (CLP) on Drought, in collaboration with global and regional partners, organized a dynamic regional webinar titled “Bridging the Gap: Evolving Finance for Integrated Drought Management.” With over 100 participants from more than 25 countries, the event provided a platform for knowledge sharing and strategic discussion on one of the most urgent challenges: financing drought resilience.
The session brought together global instruments and national-level experiences. Presentations were delivered by the UNCCD Secretariat, FAO, and the World Bank, introducing tools such as the Drought Finance Tracker, the Drought Resilience Results Framework (DRRF), and the Riyadh Global Drought Resilience Partnership (RGDRP). Experts from Moldova, Georgia, Serbia, Romania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro shared their practical experiences, highlighting challenges, successes, and gaps in implementing drought-related policies and financing mechanisms.
Key takeaways included the need to:
- Improve the coordination and implementation of national drought plans;
- Secure dedicated and sustainable financial resources;
- Scale up access to international climate finance instruments such as the GCF and Adaptation Fund;
- Promote stronger collaboration across sectors and countries.
A full summary of the webinar, including key messages, tools, national case studies, and expert insights, is available in the attached PDF. We encourage all readers to explore it and reflect on how these lessons can be applied in their own contexts.
🎥 Watch the full recording here: https://youtu.be/AMnC_WvZxFQ
Join the conversation:
What are your current drought resilience priorities?
Which financing mechanisms are you implementing or exploring?
Let’s build resilience together, because droughts, land degradation, and floods don’t stop at administrative borders.
