The Proactive Drought Management Plans, developed under the Chief Scientist Program – Water Resources, aim to strengthen drought planning strategies in partnership with the Ceará Water Resources Management Company (COGERH) and the Ceará State Secretariat for Water Resources (SRH). The initiative consists of a short-term, operational strategic plan designed to define actions that mitigate the impacts of drought on water security in the State of Ceará. It is aligned with the existing participatory processes established through negotiated water allocation, engaging River Basin Committees and Reservoir Management Commissions in decision-making and implementation.

The Proactive Drought Management Plans support the allocation of water among sectors and users by establishing mechanisms and criteria for monitoring, oversight, and system operation. The initiative is built on three fundamental pillars: preventive monitoring and early warning; vulnerability, impact, and mitigation assessment; and response planning and implementation. Drought planning addresses multiple spatial scales and management contexts, including urban water supply systems, irrigation systems, hydrosystems, rural water supply, and rainfed agriculture.

The scope of the Proactive Drought Management Plans focuses on the water resources dimension and addresses two operational scales: river basins and hydrosystems. At the river basin scale, the plans provide guidelines, strategies, and information to support drought mitigation, preparedness, and response. At the hydrosystem scale, they assess surface and groundwater availability alongside water demand to establish water allocation rules, define drought levels, and specify the operational procedures and triggers applicable to each region. The planning process follows a methodological framework composed of three main stages. The first is the diagnostic stage, which incorporates stakeholders' perceptions and collective memories of drought while identifying vulnerabilities and potential impacts. The second is the planning stage, which considers water availability and demand, develops drought scenarios, defines drought stages, operational triggers, and response targets, and establishes an action plan that can be activated under different drought conditions. The final stage is implementation, encompassing execution, monitoring, evaluation, and periodic updates to ensure the plans remain effective and responsive to changing conditions.