South-East Asia is regularly hit by droughts. Though starting slowly, droughts can have devastating cumulative impacts - striking hardest at the poor and heightening inequality, as well as degrading land and increasing the prospects of violent conflict. There will be many more dry years ahead, and the area affected by drought is likely to shift and expand. Ready for the Dry Years offers a clear analysis of this subject, assessing prospects for the decades ahead and highlighting the principal risks. Building resilience will be fundamental for the continued development of ASEAN countries. issued jointly by the ESCAP and ASEAN secretariats, the Report identifies the priorities for increasing resilience to drought and helping countries adapt. The primary audience of this report are policymakers in South-East Asia who are responsible for disaster risk reduction and development issues