Dimensions of drought: South African case studies

Vogel, Coleen; Drummond, James

doi:10.1007/bf00807832

Cited by 19 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…The development of homeland policies, betterment schemes and forced removals saw indigenous people being dispossessed and removed from their land. 4 Generally this took place coincidentally with the development of considerable support to white farmers, who grew in economic strength in response to these interventions. Infrastructure was built, and strong support services established, including assistance from banks for land acquisition.…”

Section: A History Of Response By the State In South Africamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The failure to incorporate climate variation and drought into commercial agricultural development and practice resulted in greater areas of marginal land being used for agriculture. 4 The livestock reduction scheme was a further policy tasked with improving rangeland condition, which would in turn facilitate drought recovery. This was a volunteer scheme, which ran from 1969-1978, where farmers in targeted areas were paid to reduce their stocking levels by one third of the Department of Agriculture recommended carrying capacity, thereby resting a third of their land.…”

Section: A History Of Response By the State In South Africamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…2 Southern Africa generally has a high coefficient of rainfall variation, making droughts a frequent occurrence. 3,4 The influence of this variable climate on agricultural activities cannot be over-emphasised. 5 A look at the history of humans in southern Africa confirms this view, and there is considerable evidence that people's lifestyles and livelihoods were and still are closely linked to climate.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Human response and adaptation to drought in the arid zone: lessons from southern Africa

O'Farrell¹,

Anderson

Milton³

et al. 2009

S. Afr. J. Sci

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Human adaptation and response to drought is primarily through evasion or endurance. A review of historical agricultural practices in southern Africa demonstrates evidence of drought evasion response strategies in well-established transhumance routes, where herders move livestock on a seasonal basis in order to exploit resources subject to different climatic regimes. European settlers to the arid regions of South Africa quickly recognised the necessity of these evasion options to survive drought, and adopted the transhumance practices of indigenous farmers. Areas of geographically diverse resource bases became hotly contested by settlers and indigenous farmers. The success of evasion systems are shown to hinge on good social and institutional support structures. When movement is not an option, drought endurance is pursued by attempting to limit the damage to the natural resource base. This is through a number of means such as forage conservation, varying livestock types and numbers, water and soil conservation and taking up alternative livelihood options. State responses to drought over the last century reflect the general South African pattern of racially divided and unjust policies relating to resource access. Historically the state provided considerable support to white commercial farmers. This support was frequently contradictory in its aims and generally was inadequate to enable farmers to cope with drought. Since the advent of democracy in 1994, the state has intervened less, with some support extended to previously disadvantaged and poor communal farmers. Climate change predictions suggest an increase in drought, suggesting that the adoption of mitigating strategies should be a matter of urgency. To do this South Africa needs to build social and institutional capacity, strive for better economic and environmental sustainability, embed drought-coping mechanisms into land restitution policy to ensure the success of this programme, and acknowledge the diversity of the agricultural sector.

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Section: A History Of Response By the State In South Africamentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: A History Of Response By the State In South Africamentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Human response and adaptation to drought in the arid zone: lessons from southern Africa

O'Farrell¹,

Anderson

Milton³

et al. 2009

S. Afr. J. Sci

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Droughts Over Southern Africa in a Doubled-Co2 Climate

1996

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The southern African region is susceptible to climatic extremes and particularly to extended dry periods. Possible changes in the probability of dry years under doubled‐CO2 conditions are examined using output from the CSIRO nine‐level general circulation model. Changes in annual mean rainfall are not expected to be significant. However, the model simulates an increase in the probability of dry years in the tropics, to the south‐west of the subcontinent, as well as over the western and eastern parts of South Africa and southern Mozambique, where large percentage increases in the most intense dry spells are indicated. A decrease in the frequency of dry years is simulated over much of the interior of the subcontinent south of 10°S. In regions where the frequency of dry years decreases, the most severe events occur less often. The CSIRO nine‐level model indicates a shift in the frequency distribution of daily rainfall events under doubled‐CO2 conditions. A small change in the frequency distribution of daily rainfall events may have further implications for the frequency of mid‐summer droughts during the peak summer rainfall period of December–February. Increases in the frequency of mid‐summer droughts are simulated over the eastern part of the subcontinent south of 20°S.

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Simulated Changes in Extreme Rainfall Over Southern Africa

Mason¹,

Joubert²

1997

Int. J. Climatol.

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A general circulation model simulation is used to investigate possible changes in rainfall over southern Africa resulting from a doubling of atmospheric carbon dioxide. Simulated increases in rainfall intensity are found to be a spatially coherent and an apparently less regionally dependent signal of climatic change than changes in annual means or number of rain-days. Accordingly, increases in both the frequency and intensity of extreme daily rainfall events are simulated throughout most of the subcontinent. Simulated increases in the intensity of the lowest frequency floods are shown to be particularly severe, suggesting that greenhouse-related climatic change may be most detectable through an increase in extreme flood events rather than changes in long-term means. Similar results are evident when changes in the frequency and intensity of prolonged rainfall events, measured over a period of five consecutive days, are analysed. All results are qualitatively similar to those for the Australian region, except that the model's sensitivity to sharp changes in topography over southern Africa is highlighted.

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Dimensions of drought: South African case studies

Cited by 19 publications

References 7 publications

Human response and adaptation to drought in the arid zone: lessons from southern Africa

Human response and adaptation to drought in the arid zone: lessons from southern Africa

Droughts Over Southern Africa in a Doubled-Co2 Climate

Simulated Changes in Extreme Rainfall Over Southern Africa

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