Mechanism and comprehensive countermeasure for drought management from the view of catastrophe theory

Drought is one of the major disasters around the world which cause great social and economic hardship. Recent events of severe droughts have motivated comprehensive research on drought management in China like many other countries of Asia, Europe and Africa. In this paper, the mechanism of drought management has been analyzed in light of water supply and water demand management considering water shortage as an inductor of drought. Catastrophe theory has been proposed to explain transitions through discontinuities and unexpected changes in water system. The study indicates that supply management can increase water supply; however, in long term, it may not be sustainable for drought mitigation. Water demand management, on the other hand, improves water use efficiency with less investment. Therefore, the study emphasizes water demand managements for drought management under future changing scenarios. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2014