Drought Hazard and Desertification Management in the Drylands of Southern Africa
Drought Hazard and Desertification Management in the Drylands of Southern Africa
复制标题
南部非洲旱地的干旱危害和荒漠化管理
DOI：
10.1007/s10661-004-4002-x
复制
发表时间：
2004
影响因子：
3
通讯作者：
J. Msangi
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
J. Msangi
世纪以来，南部非洲干旱地区持续发生干旱。干旱对人类、其驯养的动物、野生动物、牧场和耕地的影响已被证明是天文数字。如果不加以处理，牧场往往会在灾害后恢复，但人类的占领已造成不可逆转的损害。尽管一些社区已经形成了可行和可持续的应对机制，但最近，南部非洲10个国家中的大多数国家的应对战略被削弱，导致生命损失。虽然土地退化有许多相互关联的原因和影响，但事实证明，与干旱有关的影响最难管理和/或克服。与干旱有关的土地退化或荒漠化对本区域的可持续土地和资源管理构成巨大威胁。该文件审查了适当的缓解干旱举措，并将其与土地保有权和土地管理做法联系起来。许多旨在减少贫穷和改善资源管理的干预措施都没有取得预期效果，原因是僵化和强加，以及外部干预者没有承认和采纳土著人民的偏好和应对战略。审查了非政府组织和主管部门制定抗旱和防治荒漠化措施的意愿，突出了社区行动在减少该地区不利影响方面发挥的作用。报告还讨论了与使贫穷和不明智地使用资源的贸易模式之间的联系。强调采取“以人为本”的缓解措施。成功取决于“南方”和“北方”的人民。所需要的是采取知情的全球行动。
Droughts have been occurring persistently in southern African dryland regions for over a century. The impacts of droughts on people, their domesticated animals, wildlife, rangelands and cropped lands have been shown to be astronomical. If left alone the rangelands often recover after the calamity, however human occupation has led to irreversible damage. Even though some communities have evolved viable and sustainable coping mechanisms, recent times have seen weakened coping strategies leading to loss of life in most of the 10 countries in southern Africa. While land degradation has many inter-related causes and effects, drought-related effects have proven most difficult to manage and/or overcome. Drought-related land degradation or desertification poses a huge threat to sustainable land and resource management in the region. The paper examines appropriate drought mitigating initiatives, linking them to land tenure and land management practices. Numerous interventions targeted at reducing poverty and improvement in resource management have failed to achieve desired effects due to rigidity and imposition, and failure of the external interveners to recognise and incorporate indigenous peoples’ preferences and coping strategies. Non-governmental organisations and authorities’ willingness to institute drought and desertification combating measures are reviewed, highlighting the role that community action plays in reducing adverse effects in the region. Linkages to trade patterns that perpetuate poverty and unwise use of resources are discussed. Adopting ‘people centred’ mitigating measures is emphasised. Success rests with both the people in the ‘south’ and those in the ‘north’. What is required is an informed global action.