Drought and development in marsabit district, kenya

Extensive drought in the 1970s and 1980s prompted national and international development efforts aimed at the pastoralist populations of Marsabit District of Kenya. Famine relief efforts by the Catholic Church and the African Inland Mission contributed to the settling of former nomads and the growth of small towns, while international development efforts, including UNESCO's Integrated Project in Arid Lands (IPAL) focused on range conservation and the improvement of livestock marketing. The sedentarization of pastoralists has led to greater access to health care, education, and other social services, but has also contributed to economic differentiation and rural proletarianization. Local economies are now based on a combination of subsistence pastoralism, livestock marketing, and wage-labor, indicating that the process of sedentarization is a complex one with varying consequences for different sectors of the population.     

福建省干旱的时空分布及其对农业生产的影响

通过对福建省66个县近44年的干旱资料分析,阐述了该省春旱、夏旱和秋冬旱的时空分布特点及其对农业生产的影响。结果表明,福建干旱以夏旱为主,秋冬旱次之;各类干旱以小旱为主,中旱次之,大、特旱则仅占四分之一。春旱在中南部沿海地区高发;夏季小、中旱以中南部沿海地区多发,大、特旱以厦门、莆田、福州地区多发;秋冬旱是南部多于北部地区。对农业生产影响较大的是春旱和夏旱,尤以夏季的大、特旱威胁最大。     

紫色丘陵区农林复合生态系统的调洪抗旱作用

以中科院盐亭紫色土农业生态试验站的历年有关资料为基础,对农林复合系统的调洪抗旱作用进行了研究。研究结果表明,农林复合生态系统（AAS）的年均径流量为非农林复合系统（NAAS）的1／2,洪峰模数相对后者降低63％,说明AAS系统对削减流域径流、洪峰及防洪有明显的效果,并对提高高台位旱地土壤水有一定的作用,特别是夏季（即雨季）最为明显,ASS的土壤含水量为NAAS的2倍。同时,还阐明了树林耗水并不与农作物相冲突,前者系主要消耗土壤耕层以下的水分。     

Monitoring and responding to famine: lessons from the 1984 - 85 food crisis in kenya

The geographic and temporal scale of institutional responses to food crises suggests three levels of food information or famine early warning system: a seasonal national food balance, baseline data on household food poverty and estimates of vulnerability to climatic and economic variations, and targeted interventions based on individual entitlements and food deprivation. Stimulating the demand for food information, beyond the need to forecast famines, is a crucial factor in the adoption of improved monitoring systems. Issues in the design of food information systems are illustrated by the experience in Kenya in 1984–85. The government of Kenya responded to the 1984 drought and ensuing food crisis to prevent widespread famine, largely through timely commercial imports of yellow maize. Although qualified by the nature of the drought and Kenya's economic development, this success story emphasises the need to improve food information systems.     

桂中旱片的成因机制及旱片综合区划

桂中地区降水不少，但由于自然及人为等因素，旱情严重，成为广西著名的旱片之一。对其成因机制的探讨是桂中环境治理和区域开发的科学基础。在概述地质地理特征的基础上，进行了桂中旱区的干旱时空分析，重点揭示了桂中旱片的成因机制；然后，根据干旱类型、旱灾脆弱度及从便于地下水利用出发，进行了桂中旱片的综合区划；最后，遵循生态环境治理、综合抗旱与脱贫致富相结合的原则，提出了治理对策措施。     

Warfare, vulnerability and survival: a case from southwestern ethiopia

The Mursi are a small group of herders and cultivators living in the Lower Omo Valley of southwestern Ethiopia. Over the past 20 years they have suffered a disaster of classic proportions, involving drought, famine, migration and war. Measures taken to ensure the physical survival of people, and especially cattle, in the face of regular and expected attacks by their neighbours have made the economy of the Mursi more vulnerable to climatic uncertainty. A crude materialist explanation of warfare is not, therefore, supported by this case but it is clear also that warfare has played a key part in Mursi expansion northwards, over the past century, into the territory of the Bodi. Warfare, in this context, is a means of establishing and maintaining the separate political identities of neighbouring groups. The problem of survival does not present itself to the Mursi and their neighbours as a choice between political and physical survival: the only way they know of saving lives is to save their way of life.     

Famine, gold and guns: the suri of southwestern ethiopia, 1985-91

Over the past few years, the Suri have lived through a deep ecological and social crisis without substantial external aid from either the Ethiopian government or international aid agencies. They have experienced drought, cattle disease and an increasing level of violent conflict with their neighbours, leading to the severe disruption of their traditional agro-pastoral subsistence system and settlement pattern. Through migration, the exploitation of gold resources and investment in automatic weapons, however, they have managed virtually a full recovery of their economy and society.     

Gender and drought: experiences of Australian women in the drought of the 1990s

A unique collaborative, sociological study undertaken during 1995-7, explored the social construction of drought as a disaster, looking at farm families in two Australian states: Queensland (beef producers) and New South Wales (sheep/wheat producers). A decision was made to interview the women and men separately to test our hypothesis that there would be gender issues in any analysis of a disaster, but particularly one which has had so much long-term impact on individuals, families and communities, such as drought. Interviews were conducted with over 100 individuals male and female. We conclude that drought as a disaster is a gendered experience. The paper draws on the narratives of some women involved in the study to identify 'themes of difference' which confirm the necessity to maintain gender as a variable in all studies of the social impacts of disaster.     

湖南省农业旱灾的年际变化及重灾年份预测

旱灾是湖南省最严重的农业自然灾害之一,旱灾几乎年年都有发生,且涉及面广,后续和潜在危害较大。湖南省农业旱灾的受灾率异常指数和成灾率异常指数的变化规律揭示:过去58年,农业旱灾具有明显的波动性与阶段性,大致以5年为尺度,轻重灾期交替出现;受灾率与成灾率具有同步性,在重灾期尤为明显;1980年以来灾情更为严重,成灾率、受灾率都较大。湖南省农业旱灾异常指数周期性变化可以分为2个时段,1990年代初期以前存在4个特征时间尺度,分别为3年、5年1、0和21年4个周期;1990年代初期以后存在3个特征时间尺度,分别为3年、7年和17年年3个周期。根据异常指数的变化,建立了农业旱灾灰色灾变预测模型,进行了重灾预测。结果表明,今后20年湖南省农业旱灾将出现5个重灾年份,分别在2010-2011年、2013—2014年2、016—2018年2、021—2022年、2025—2027年期间,间隔为4年左右。     

The politics of drought: The pauperization of lsiolo Boran

Isiolo Boran are becoming a population of permanent paupers. During the colonial period they were protected from Somali incursions, and their way of life preserved. Since Independence, however, largely as a result of increasing government intervention and market integration, they have become caught in a vicious spiral of poverty and decline.     

我国西南部喀斯特地区石漠化研究进展

我国西南部喀斯特地区的石漠化是西部生态建设中面临的十分突出的地域环境问题，也是西南喀斯特地区实现可持续发展的主要障碍之一。参考国内研究的相关文献，运用比较分析法，从喀斯特石漠化的概念、分布、评价指标、生态效应、成因分析及综合治理等六方面回顾了近年来我国喀斯特地区石漠化研究的进展情况。研究结果认为，目前研究中还存在基础理论研究落后于实践活动、定量分析不足、基础数据采集工作欠缺和现有治理模式具有较大的局限性等不足，并建议从研究重点区域、探究喀斯特石漠化演变机理、在喀斯特石漠化地区开展生态综合整治工作及建设相关的信息系统等方面开展先行研究工作。     

内蒙古草地旱灾研究

在充分考虑草地土壤水分亏缺和生产力水平的基础上，构造了草地缺水指数和旱灾评判系数。通过对旱灾评判系数与灾情历史序列的对比分析，确定了旱灾等级指标，并提出了大面积监测草地旱灾的方法，为客观准确地监测草地旱灾提供了科学依据。     

Changing household responses to drought in Tharaka, Kenya: vulnerability, persistence and challenge

Drought is a recurring challenge to the livelihoods of those living in Tharaka District, Kenya, situated in the semi-arid zone to the east of Mount Kenya, from the lowest slopes of the mountain to the banks of the Tana River. This part of Kenya has been marginal to the economic and political life of Kenya from the colonial period until the present day. A study of more than 30 years of change in how people in Tharaka cope with drought reveals resilience in the face of major macro-level transformations, which include privatisation of landownership, population growth, political decentralisation, increased conflict over natural resources, different market conditions, and environmental shifts. However, the study also shows troubling signs of increased use of drought responses that are incompatible with long-term agrarian livelihoods. Government policy needs to address the challenge of drought under these new macro conditions if sustainable human development is to be achieved.     

中国北方地区干旱化趋势与防御对策研究

利用最新的气象资料,计算并分析了中国北方地区与干旱有关的气象因素（可能蒸散量、水面蒸发量和降水量）的区域分布及其20世纪90年代的变化情况,结果表明,从总体上来看,20世纪90年代的干旱程度略轻于前30年的平均水平,但地区间存在显著差异,内蒙古东部地区,京津冀地区干旱有所缓解,山西大部分地区、陕西、宁夏南部、甘南及青海部分地区,则干旱有所发展,其它大部分地区的干旱程度几乎没有变化,最后,根据该地区的具体情况,提出了相应的防御干旱进一步发展的对策。     

山西省春旱趋势及对农业的影响

利用山西省53个气象站1956—2005年的春季逐月平均气温和降水量资料,计算了春季大气干旱指数序列,分析了山西省春季干旱化趋势。结果表明,山西省春季明显向干旱化发展;在气温和降水两个因素中,气温的升高对干旱化的作用更大;春季干旱化对农业生产极为不利,对这种形势应予以足够的关注。