Prevention and metigation of draught
Answers
Answer:
Strategies for drought protection, mitigation or relief include:
Dams – many dams and their associated reservoirs supply additional water in times of drought.
Cloud seeding – a form of intentional weather modification to induce rainfall. This remains a hotly debated topic, as the United States National Research Council released a report in 2004 stating that to date, there is still no convincing scientific proof of the efficacy of intentional weather modification.
Desalination – of sea water for irrigation or consumption.
Drought monitoring – Continuous observation of rainfall levels and comparisons with current usage levels can help prevent man-made drought. Careful monitoring of moisture levels can also help predict increased risk for wildfires, using such metrics as the Keetch-Byram Drought Index or Palmer Drought Index.
Land use – Carefully planned crop rotation can help to minimize erosion and allow farmers to plant less water-dependent crops in drier years.
Outdoor water-use restriction – Regulating the use of sprinklers, hoses or buckets on outdoor plants, filling pools, and other water-intensive home maintenance tasks. Xeriscaping yards can significantly reduce unnecessary water use by residents of towns and cities.
Rainwater harvesting – Collection and storage of rainwater from roofs or other suitable catchments.
Recycled water – Former wastewater (sewage) that has been treated and purified for reuse.
Transvasement – Building canals or inter-basin transfer of river water as massive attempts at irrigation in drought-prone areas.
Afforestation and drought resistant crops.
Successful examples include Pani panchayat in Maharashtra and Sukhomajari experiment in Haryana.
Famine
A famine is a widespread scarcity of food, caused by several factors including crop failure, population unbalance, or government policies. This phenomenon is usually accompanied or followed by regional malnutrition, starvation, epidemic, and increased mortality. Nearly every continent in the world has experienced a period of famine throughout history. Some countries, particularly in sub-Sahara Africa, continue to have extreme cases of famine.
Causes
Food shortages in a population are caused either by a lack of food or by difficulties in food distribution; it may be worsened by natural climate fluctuations and by extreme political conditions related to oppressive government or warfare. The conventional explanation until 1951 for the cause of famines was the decline of food availability. The assumption was that the central cause of all famines was a decline in food availability. However this does not explain why only a certain section of the population such as the agricultural laborer was affected by famines while others were insulated from famines.
1. Failure of exchange entitlements
A person may own various commodities that can be exchanged in a market economy for the other commodities he or she needs. The exchange can happen via trading or production or through a combination of the two. These entitlements are called trade-based or production-based entitlements.
2. Lack of democracy
Amartya Sen advances the theory that lack of democracy and famines are inter-related citing the example of the Bengal famine of 1943, stating that it was made viable only because of the lack of democracy in India under British rule. He further argues that the situation was aggravated by the British government’s suspension of trade in rice and grains between various Indian provinces.
3. State-sponsored famines
In certain cases, such as the Great Leap Forward in China (which produced the largest famine in absolute numbers), North Korea in the mid-1990s, or Zimbabwe in the early-2000s, famine can occur because of government policy.
Famine prevention
1. Food security
Long term measures to improve food security, include investment in modern agriculture techniques, such as fertilizers and irrigation, but can also include strategic national food storage.
2. Relief
There is a growing realization among aid groups that giving cash or cash vouchers instead of food is a cheaper, faster, and more efficient way to deliver help to the hungry, particularly in areas where food is available but unaffordable.