Village knowledge centers and the use of GIS-derived products in enhancing micro-level drought preparedness: A case study from South Central India

Drought affects hundreds of millions of people in the developing world and causes serious disruption of social and economic activities. Preparedness is better than relief and information is the backbone of drought preparedness. In this paper we report the results from a study in the use of GIS-derived products to assess micro-level drought vulnerability, taking a cluster of 17 villages in the South Central India as the study area. An internet-connected rural information center, linked to village knowledge centers, played a key role in testing the utility of this product, and the associated local-level predictions for seasonal rainfall.