Drought case studies

Question 1

Background to Ethiopia drought

Answer 1

Ethiopia relies on two rain seasons throughout the year.
The longer season has become unpredictable while the short season has been getting shorter. There are not enough wells to access groundwater to provide irrigation when the rain falls.
Ongoing conflict in northern Ethiopia damages infrastructure and food supplies.

Question 2

Ethiopia social impacts

Answer 2

• 85% of the population live in rural areas and depend on farming.
• The lack of rain led to crop failure and widespread loss of livestock
• people suffered from hunger and malnutrition, exposing them to disease.

Question 3

Ethiopia economic impacts:

Answer 3

• cereal prices rose to record high, while live stock prices and wages fell.
• increase in urban migration, increasing economic costs to the country.
  Food and water needed for 20 million people.
• conflict in northern-Ethiopia caused $22.7 billion worth of damage to infrastructure.
• the ongoing food and water insecurity costs Ethiopia $11 billion per year.

Question 4

Ethiopia Environmental impacts:

Answer 4

• overgrazing and over-cultivating of drought prone areas led to desertification and degradation of the land.
• An increase in diseases due to reduced water and food supplies.
• wild fires: vegetation became very dry and fired started and spread quickly. Over 20,000 hectares of forest were lost each year.
• wildfires destroyed plant and animal habitats and killed wildlife.

Question 5

Ethiopia government responses:

Answer 5

• overseas governments have given aid.

Question 6

Ethiopia organizations aid:

Answer 6

• aid agencies Eg. Oxfam and UNICEF are helping secure water supplies.
• education charities are helping people secure jobs in urban areas.
• large charity event such as live aid helped raise awareness and money.

Question 7

Ethiopia individual responses:

Answer 7

• migrating from rural to urban areas.
• had to ration their food and water to last a long time

Question 8

Background to California drought:

Answer 8

• California supplies 40% of the USAs vegetables, fruits and nuts, which generate around $50 billion each year. However these crops are in constant demand of lots of irrigation and freshwater supplies.
• a dry air mass has been kept over California due to the south-westerly winds being diverted away from the California coast. This prevented normal winter storms from reaching California.

Question 9

California social impacts:

Answer 9

• subsidence: as groundwater levels dropped, land settled to lower levels, damaging properties.
• people were asked to conserve water and hose pipe bans were put in place.
• farmers were unable to grow crops in thousands of acres of land, leaving many farmers unable to support themselves.
• people paid private companies to drill private wells to extract groundwater supplies.
• wildfires burnt many homes, leaving thousands homeless. People found it diffuse to rebuild their homes and insurance premiums became too expensive.

Question 10

California economic impacts:

Answer 10

• the cost of the drought was approximately $2.7 billion a year.
• the agricultural industry alone lost $5 billion in 2014.
• wine production was particularly affected and 17,000 agricultural workers lost their jobs.
  Prices of beef and grain rose de to a supply shortage.
• Hydroelectric dams stopped producing electricity.

Question 11

California environmental impacts:

Answer 11

• rivers dried up and prevented fish from reaching breeding grounds.
• wetlands were drained to secure water supplies, altering natural habitats and reducing fish populations.
• wildfires: vegetation set alight, destroyed plant and animal habitats, killed wildlife.
• seawater ingress: land and drinking water became contaminated by seawater.

Question 12

California government responses:

Answer 12

• state government ran campaigns to educate people to save water.
• state laws were brought in to reduce water use in California by 25%.

Question 13

California organisation responses:

Answer 13

• research projects by university of California helped to investigate ways to effectively manage groundwater.

Question 14

California individuals responses:

Answer 14

• farmers were encouraged to use water efficient irrigation such as drip irrigation.
• homeowners were advised to check for water leaks.
• protestors campaigned against companies selling bottled local water.