Weather patterns, food security and humanitarian response in sub-Saharan Africa
Weather patterns, food security and humanitarian response in sub-Saharan Africa
复制标题
DOI：
10.1098/rstb.2005.1746
复制
发表时间：
2005-11-29
影响因子：
6.3
通讯作者：
Haile, M
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Haile, M
虽然在全球减少饥饿和贫穷方面取得了相当大的成就，但迄今为止非洲的进展非常有限。目前，三分之一的非洲人口面临着广泛的饥饿和长期营养不良，并不断受到严重粮食危机和饥荒的威胁。受影响最大的是农村家庭，他们的生计严重依赖传统的小农农业。降雨量在决定农业生产以及农村社区的经济和社会福祉方面发挥着重要作用。撒哈拉以南非洲的降雨模式受到大规模季节内和年际气候变化的影响，包括热带太平洋偶尔发生的厄尔尼诺事件，导致干旱和洪水等极端天气事件频繁发生，从而减少农业产量，导致严重的粮食短缺。面临严重粮食短缺的家庭和社区被迫采取应对战略，以满足其家庭的紧急粮食需求。这些极端反应可能对家庭可持续获得粮食的能力以及环境产生长期不利影响。艾滋病毒/艾滋病危机也对非洲大陆的粮食生产活动产生了不利影响，在缺乏安全网和适当的财政支助机制的情况下，需要人道主义援助，使家庭能够有效地科普紧急情况，更有效地管理其有限的资源。及时和适当的人道主义援助将为家庭提供参与生产性和可持续生计战略的机会。对减贫努力的投资如果辅之以及时和可预测的应对机制，确保在危机期间保护生计，无论是天气危机还是与冲突有关的危机，将产生更好的影响。随着对包括厄尔尼诺现象在内的气候多变性的进一步了解，天气模式对农村社区粮食安全和脆弱性的影响变得更加可预测，并可进行有效监测。本文件的目的是探讨目前在了解气候变异性、天气模式和粮食安全方面取得的进展如何有助于改进人道主义决策。该文件将提出新的办法，以触发对天气引起的粮食危机的人道主义反应。
Although considerable achievements in the global reduction of hunger and poverty have been made, progress in Africa so far has been very limited. At present, a third of the African population faces widespread hunger and chronic malnutrition and is exposed to a constant threat of acute food crisis and famine. The most affected are rural households whose livelihood is heavily dependent on traditional rainfed agriculture. Rainfall plays a major role in determining agricultural production and hence the economic and social well being of rural communities. The rainfall pattern in sub-Saharan Africa is influenced by large-scale intra-seasonal and inter-annual climate variability including occasional El Nino events in the tropical Pacific resulting in frequent extreme weather event such as droughts and floods that reduce agricultural outputs resulting in severe food shortages. Households and communities facing acute food shortages are forced to adopt coping strategies to meet the immediate food requirements of their families. These extreme responses may have adverse long-term impacts on households' ability to have sustainable access to food as well as the environment. The HIV/AIDS crisis has also had adverse impacts on food production activities on the continent.In the absence of safety nets and appropriate financial support mechanisms, humanitarian aid is required to enable households effectively cope with emergencies and manage their limited resources more efficiently. Timely and appropriate humanitarian aid will provide households with opportunities to engage in productive and sustainable livelihood strategies. Investments in poverty reduction efforts would have better impact if complemented with timely and predictable response mechanisms that would ensure the protection of livelihoods during crisis periods whether weather or conflict-related. With an improved understanding of climate variability including El Nino, the implications of weather patterns for the food security and vulnerability of rural communities have become more predictable and can be monitored effectively. The purpose of this paper is to investigate how current advances in the understanding of climate variability, weather patterns and food security could contribute to improved humanitarian decision-making. The paper will propose new approaches for triggering humanitarian responses to weather-induced food crises.