From the Director: Summer 2000

We had a fairly good response to the call in the previous issue of Drought Network News for readers to receive future issues online. I would encourage more of you to consider this option, as it will save distribution costs and expedite receipt of the newsletter. If you are willing to receive the newsletter electronically, please contact Kim Klemsz (kklemsz2@unl.edu). Our plan is to notify you via e-mail when each new issue of Drought Network News is available. Back issues of Drought Network News are also available online. At this writing, I am making final preparations for the Expert Group Meeting on Early Warning Systems for Drought Preparedness and Drought Management. This meeting, hosted by the Institute of Meteorology, will be held in Lisbon, Portugal, in early September. Co-sponsors of the meeting are the World Meteorological Organization, Secretariat of the U.N. Convention to Combat Desertification, and UNDP’s Office to Combat Desertification and Drought. The purpose of the meeting is to assess the status of drought early warning systems and determine future needs to better contribute to the increasing demand for drought mitigation and planning efforts