Appropriate drought cycle interventions.

1. Drought
Saving Lives thru’ Livelihoods:
Critical gaps to response in the
Greater Horn of Africa

2. Occurrence & Severity
Yet again, drought has hit the Greater Horn of Africa.
The UN estimates that at least 11 million people in
Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia are in crisis, making
this the region’s worst drought in a decade.
The impact has been most severe in pastoral areas, with reports
of malnutrition levels far beyond emergency thresholds:
1. livestock losses of up to 70% and
2. the mass migration of pastoralists in search of water, food, jobs
and relief aid.

3. Timeline of Key Events 2011
Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul
Early Warning
Window of opportunity to take
preventive action
o GoK declaration of emergency
Multi agency assessments
Funding appeals
Livelihoods interventions by agencies with
longer term programming
Emergency response
reaches capacity

4. Drought Cycle
• Drought cycle is the cyclic
nature of drought in
which the effects come
and go in a predictable
fashion
• Drought management
means all concerted
actions by the local
communities,
government, donors,
NGOs and other actors,
to prepare for, respond to
and help recover from
drought

5. Indicators (Group work)
Normal Alert Alarm Emergency Recovery
• Fall in animal • People & animals • Irregular • Good rains
birth rates gather @ high capacity mov’ts • First harvest
• Reduction in milk water points, deep wells • HHs start to • People start
• Animals browse and boreholes break up to return
less palatable • Building alliances • Increased home
grasses and shrubs • Migration mortality • Animals
• Camps change • Epidemics start • Cereals very start breeding
normal seasonal • Animal deaths difficult to but animal
movement pattern • Animal sales /barter obtain prices remain
• Camps fragment • Terms of trade index • Emergency high even
into smaller more turns sharply against camps form when cereal
mobile units. herders • Terms of prices fall
• Visiting • Households diversify trade collapse
neighbours their food intake
regularly • number of meals per
• Shifts in terms of day reduced.
trade index

6. DC Interventions
 Drought and its adverse effects on livelihood of people is
not a disaster on its own but the lack of preparedness for
drought can heighten disaster
Specific activities are planned for each warning stage.
These are characterised as:
1. Drought preparedness in normal periods
2. Mitigation in alert/alarm situations
3. Relief’ in the emergency stage and
4. Reconstruction during recovery.
This model is valid for ‘slow-onset’ hazards such as
drought, but not for rapid onset disasters such as floods
or earth quakes...

7. Drought Cycle Management System
An appropriate drought management system should have 5
critical components, the first operating at national level the
others at county level:
i. A national drought management policy (law)
ii. A drought early warning system (EWS)
iii. A set of pre-determined warning stages triggered by the early warning
information
iv. A set of district level contingency (‘shelf’) plans for rapid reaction to
early warning and changes in the warning stages
v. A drought contingency (response) fund, enabling rapid
implementation of the contingency plans.
Many important measures should, and in some cases can only,
be taken during the normal stage as a part of preparation
planning.

8. Early Warning Systems
• It is widely accepted that the earlier the warning and the faster the
reaction, the more effective and lower cost the response.
Elements of EWS
The following criteria must be kept in mind when indicators are chosen.
(I) Risk knowledge. Risks arise from hazards and the vulnerabilities
that are present: what are the patterns and trends in these factors?
(ii) Monitoring & Warning Services. Is there a sound scientific basis
for predicting the risks faced? Are the right parameters being
monitored?
(iii) Disseminate & Communication. Do the warnings get to those at
risk? Do people understand them? Do they contain useful
information the enables proper response?
(iv) Response Capability. Do communities understand their risk? Do
they respect the warning services? Do they know how to react?.

9. Strategic Drought Interventions
Human welfare Herd management: Water management
 stock sales and slaughter  Destocking  water conservation
 drought tolerant crops  Restocking  rehabilitation of
 food purchases  vaccination existing water sources
 use of food reserves  prophylactic  development of
 alternative diet treatment new sources
 smaller meals at lower  Herd dispersal  Technical assistance
frequency  herd splitting  use of alternative
 dependence on relief  supplement feeding sources
food  use of grazing  change of watering
 small scale money reserves and leased frequency
generating activities pastures  construction of
 casual employment  longer daily grazing underground cisterns
 Livelihood fairs period  Sensitization on
 Capacity building  NRM etc... sanitation and
 multi-sector hygiene related to
interventions etc. water

10. Strategic Drought Interventions
• Examples of adaptation measures in Agriculture
include:
– Expanding efforts to promote rainwater harvesting
– Improved soil management techniques that decrease soil erosion
and increase soil water holding capacity
– Improved weed management
– Adoption of cultivars or crops that are drought tolerant
– Integration of multi-purpose agro-forestry and legume green
manure species into croplands
– Tailoring of fertilizer recommendations to high-risk environments
– Seed distribution
– Strategic stockpiling – grain
– Seed fairs / voucher systems
– Technical assistance

11. Examples of adaptation measures in
DCM include:
Alert Alarm
o Cary out strategic water o Open emergency
needs assessment. boreholes: maintain
o Form emergency water emergency borehole repair
repair team service
o Systematic check on o Limited water tankering to
condition of all boreholes, covered water storage
pumps and gensets, and installations
maintenance
o Stockpile spare parts
o Set up emergency repair
and maintenance service

12. Examples of adaptation measures in
DRM include:
Emergency Recovery
o fodder provision o Restocking programs
o Animal health interventions o Cash injection
o Human health interventions o Deworming
o Destocking – commercial & o Natural resource
slaughter based management
o Food distribution o Forestation programs
o Cash injections o Water point rehabilitation
o Water support systems – etc….
trucking; strategic fuel o De-silt pans and dams
subsidies include repairs & o Cultivation
rehabilitation

13. Selecting an Intervention
Appropriate interventions depend on the
following:
o Understanding of local livelihoods & vulnerabilities
o Community driven implementation
o Community organization
o Strong participation of women
o Local training and capacity building
o Blending of traditional and modern approaches
o Reconciling short-term needs with long-term goals
o Supportive policy environment

14. Drought Preparation & Mitigation
Measures
Preparation Mitigation
 Strengthen traditional coping means  Forage preservation & conservation
 Diversification of livelihoods ( hay baling)
 Strengthen NRM institutions  Animal sales (de-stocking/re-
 Institutionalization & Policy stocking)
enactment  Strategic water utilization
 Range reseeding  Livestock access to preserved areas
 Enhance disease surveillance
 Mass vaccinations
 Water conservation
 De-silting water pans
 Peace building

15. Case study: Pastoralist Livelihoods
Initiative (PLI) in Ethiopia
The Pastoralist Livelihoods Initiative (PLI) is a 2 yr livestock programme in
the Somali, Afar and Oromia regions of Ethiopia.
Its main activities focus on enhancing early-warning systems, increasing
access to markets, improving livestock prodn & facilitating policy reform.
In 2008, early warnings of failed rains were issued just as the project was
due to start.
In response, the project rapidly switched to emergency livelihood
interventions. By facilitating meetings btn traders & pastoralists, it
supported the commercial de-stocking of approximately 14,000 animals,
pioneering large scale commercial de-stocking in Ethiopia.
Approximately 9,500 additional animals were de-stocked directly by
NGOs, while support from Gov’t enabled large-scale animal health
interventions, including the vaccination of over a million animals & rapid
water rehabilitation...

16. Application to PFS
Demonstration of appropriate coping strategies…
How? Group work
Thank You
Yusuf Lorika