Effects on Drought

Effects on Drought

Drought has long been recognized as one of the most insidious causes

of human misery. It has today the unfortunate distinction of being the

natural disaster that annually claims the most victims. Its ability to

cause widespread misery is actually increasing. While generally

associated with semiarid climates, drought can occur in areas that

normally enjoy adequate rainfall and moisture levels. In the broadest

sense, any lack of water for the normal needs of agriculture,

livestock, industry, or human population may be termed a drought. The

cause may be lack of supply, contamination of supply, inadequate

storage or conveyance facilities, or abnormal demand. Drought, as

commonly understood, is a condition of climatic dryness that is severe

enough to reduce soil moisture and water below the minimums necessary

for sustaining plant, animal, and human life. Drought is usually

accompanied by hot, dry winds and may be followed by damaging floods.

More socially relevant than technically correct is the definition used

by Ari Toubo Eibrahim, the minister of agriculture in Niger, who has

said that a drought is "Not as much water as the people need."

Examples

Chad, the largest landlocked country of the African Sahel region,

suffered greatly from the prolonged drought of the 1970s. Based on a

60 percent reduction in cereal grain output and 50 percent loss in the

livestock herd, the dollar damage was assessed at more than U.S. $84

million. Because of inadequate data, the actual number of starvation

victims and displaced persons is unknown. However, it is estimated

that more than 900,000 people were severely affected by the d...

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The need to focus on agriculture, animals and water supply. Past

operations have overemphasized relief. Relief operations must be

balanced by immediate and wide-spread attacks on the causes of the

drought and by measures to reduce the impact. Emphasis must be placed

on improving agriculture, saving herds, and improving and expanding

water resources.

The need to avoid camps. For most relief agencies, the easiest way to

distribute a variety of aid is by centralizing the distribution and

establishing a refugee camp. Too often, however, these camps become

permanent settlements. As the primary goal is to encourage people to

return, relief efforts should be focused on providing the relief to

the people in their own communities. This means that a great deal of

sophistication is required in the relief logistics system.8