IB DP GEOGRAPHYDROUGHTS- HORN OF AFRICA AFTER A CONTINOUS LACK OF RAIN IN LATE 2010

Olivia Stroobants, Kathianna Oppenhuizen

& Cicely Blain

REGION’S POPULATION & ECONOMY

Eritrea, Djibouti, Ethiopia

and Somalia

REGION’S POPULATION & ECONOMY

Region’s population – 110 milllion people (estimation)

13 Million people affected

DJIBOUTI

774,389 (July 2012) Economy based on service activities Most food is imported due to inadequate

rainfall limiting crop growth Exports: re-exports, hides (blankets) and

skins, coffee Very few natural resources and industry Unemployment rate of nearly 60% in urban

areas

ETHIOPIA

93,815,992 (July 2012) Economy based on agriculture, accounting

for almost 50% of GDP, and 85% of total employment

Agricultural section often affected by droughts and poor cultivation factors

Coffee is critical to the Ethiopian economy with exports of some $350 million in 2006

Exports: coffee,gold, leather products, live animals, oilseeds

ERITREA

6,086,495 (July 2012) command economy under the control of the

sole political party Nearly 80% of population involved in

subsistence agriculture About 20% in services and industry Exports : livestock, sorghum, textiles, food,

small manufactures

SOMALIA

10,085,638 (July 2012) Economy mainly based on livestock

remittance transfer companies and telecommunications

Agriculture is most important sector, livestock provides about 40% of the country’s GDP

Exports: livestock, bananas, hides, fish, charcoal, scrap metal

PREPARATION OF POPULATION FOR DROUGHTS

Droughts occurred after two very dry seasons (‘failed rainy seasons’)

The Famine Early Warning Systems Network, started noticing the droughts in August 2010

In January 2011 the American ambassador of Kenya ‘declared disaster and called for urgent assistance.’

Food supplied to region by USA, but not enough

Farmers very badly affected also due to increasing food and fuel prices

Resulted in increased poverty

VULNERABILITY OF POPULATION

Ethiopia & Kenya suffering partly due to poor land management strategies, poor sanitation,etc little they can due

People from Somalia (15,000 per month) are fleeing to camps in Ethiopia & Kenya – overfull – suffering from droughts

Walking long distances to these camps Many people – children dying of starvation

PROBABILITY OF DROUGHTS IN THE HORN OF AFRICA

High probability 40% likelihood in Eastern and Western Ethiopia

and Western Kenya 45% likelihood in other parts of Ethiopia and

Kenya 20% likelihood in Eritrea, Djibouti and Somalia

thanks to the Gulf of Eden and the Red Sea Due to arid & semi-arid climates The Horn of Africa is expected to experience

Drought Locust infestation Floodingat least once or twice per year.

HOW OFTEN HAS THIS HAZARD OCCURRED IN THE PAST?

Occurs annually or bi-annually but the most severe cases were in;

1983-1985 1991-1992 1998-1999 2011 – the worst case of drought in the Horn

of African for over 60 years.

MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES BY THE COMMUNITY AND THE GOVERNMENT

The following initiatives have helped to prevent droughts and help the community to recover following a drought:

Pastoralist Livelihoods Initiative (PLI) Enhanced Livelihoods in the Mandera

Triangle/Southern

Ethiopia (ELMT/ELSE) programme, Regional Resilience Enhancement Against Drought

(RREAD) programme UNEP UNDP ‘Doctors without borders’

SPATIAL EXTENT OF THE DROUGHT IN 2011

Kenya 3.2 million 350,000

people camp at Dadaab

Ethiopia 3.2 million

Somalia 2.6 million

Djibouti 100,000

Uganda Sudan South Sudan

CAUSES OF THE DISASTER

The Horn of Africa experienced its worst drought in more than 60 years following two failed rainy seasons.

the main climatic trigger for the droughts is La Niña

IMPACTS OF THE DISASTERS

Drought affects the four dimensions of food security: availability,stability, access and utilization

Drought impacts on agriculture Drought on human health Drought ranks as the single most common

cause of severe food shortages droughts cause displacement of people, migration and loss of human life

MAGNITUDE, DURATION AND SPEED OF ONSET OF THE DROUGHT

RESPONSES & PERCEPTION TO THE DISASTER

In the Horn of Africa especially, drought is part and parcel of daily life.

The drought had been mounting for a year, but it wasn’t until the crisis peaked over the summer that the news media and most international donors took notice.

Donors and national governments proved unable to address the crisis effectively in its early stages.

FUTURE ACTIONS TO REDUCE FUTHER DROUGHTS & RISKS Horn of Africa Drought needs sustainable solutions to

prevent a reoccurrence of this situation in the medium and long-term

Investing in the restoration and maintenance of the Earth's ecosystems can have a key role in countering climate change as well as climate-proofing vulnerable economies.

Adaptation Measures: supporting the restoration of Kenya's Mau forest to help introduce new policies in Ethiopia, that will

assist pastoralists in managing climate change risks and shocks in six districts

councils to help improved drought resilience and water security

BIBLIOGRAPHY http://www.google.nl/imgres?q=horn+of+africa&hl=nl&sa=X&rlz=1C1AFAB_enNL441&tbm=isch&prmd=imv

ns&tbnid=SH33fh46Q4zjtM:&imgrefurl=http://carbon-based-ghg.blogspot.com/2011/07/eleven-million-at-risk-in-horn-of.html&docid=P3kXnrxsJE2xxM&imgurl=http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ch6s-kjGRhI/TibR4N2yksI/AAAAAAAAOv0/4BO09AS26Fo/s1600/Africa_%25252528Horn_region%25252529.png&w=341&h=341&ei=d7UeT-GcHdDu- gbntPWzDw&zoom=1&iact=rc&dur=1045&sig=109594286850591341382&page=1&tbnh=155&tbnw=155&start=0&ndsp=18&ved=1t:429,r:4,s:0&tx=92&ty=10&biw=1366&bih=667 – map 1

http://www.google.nl/imgres?q=what+is+the+population+of+the+horn+of+africa&hl=nl&sa=X&rlz=1C1AFAB_enNL441&tbm=isch&tbnid=xj9U4z0VM3GduM:&imgrefurl=http://na.unep.net/geas/newsletter/Nov_11.php&docid=JRb1G9TbxZPARM&imgurl=http://na.unep.net/geas/newsletter/images/Nov_11/Figure3_PopulationGrowthGraphic.png&w=1000&h=733&ei=crgeT6bUBoqf-waOru0i&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=523&vpy=322&dur=3479&hovh=192&hovw=262&tx=165&ty=100&sig=109594286850591341382&page=1&tbnh=147&tbnw=200&start=0&ndsp=18&ved=1t:429,r:8,s:0&biw=1366&bih=667 – map 2

http://www.redcross.ca/article.asp?id=40022&tid=001

http://globalpublicsquare.blogs.cnn.com/2011/07/22/what-has-caused-the-east-africa-crisis/

http://blog.usaid.gov/2011/08/horn-of-africa-drought-immediate-crisis-requires-long-term-solutions/

http://www.globalissues.org/article/796/east-africa-food-crisis#Earlywarningsystemshadpredictedthismonthsearlier

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-13944550

http://www.unep.org/newscentre/default.aspx?DocumentID=2649&ArticleID=8828

http://pushafrica.com/2011/09/from-bad-to-worse-in-horn-of-africa/

http://www.unep.org/newscentre/default.aspx?DocumentID=2649&ArticleID=8828

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-13944550

http://www.fao.org/crisis/28402-0f9dad42f33c6ad6ebda108ddc1009adf.pdf

http://www.odi.org.uk/resources/docs/2041.pdf

http://www.beyondintractability.org/node/739

http://www.350resources.org.uk/2011/07/06/la-nina-causes-worst-drought-in-horn-of-africa-for-60-years/