LINKING HH DROUGHT COPING STRATEGIES TO POLICY

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LINKING HH DROUGHT COPING STRATEGIES TO POLICY
Forum on Drought Risk Development Policy 31
Jan to 2 Feb 2005

• REALITIES AND OPPORTUNITIES
• Sally Crafter FARM-Africa

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EFFECTS OF DROUGHT ON THE HOUSEHOLD

• INCREMENTAL LOSS OF PRODUCTIVE ( LAND,
  LIVESTOCK, TOOLS, SEED) AND NON-PRODUCTIVE ASSETS
• DISPLACEMENT AND RESETTLEMENT OF PEOPLE
• SOCIAL DISRUPTION DUE TO CHANGES IN GENDER
  ROLES AND SPLIT FAMILIES
• INCREASED RISK OF VIOLENCE
• REDUCED SCHOOL ATTENDANCE
• MICRO-ENTERPRISES FAIL
• ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION
• MALNUTRITION, DEATH AND DISEASE
• LOSS OF SPIRIT

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TRADITIONAL DROUGHT COPING MECHANISMS
FOOD WATER INTAKE

• Reduction in food intake (number of meals, size
  and composition)
• Food preservation
• Increased in consumption of wild food
• Reduced washing of people, clothes and implements

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DISPLACEMENT

• Migration of pastoralists to find pasture and
  water
• Migration of people to sources of food aid
• Resettlement often from highlands to lowlands
• Movement to search for paid labour (usually
  men)

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DIVERSIFICATION OF INCOME

• herd splitting, de-stocking and changes in
  species composition in pastoral areas
• exploitation of natural resources (charcoal,
  fuel wood, mining)
• trade (livestock, grain, petty trade)
• Sale of household items (incl. tools and seed)
  slaughter of livestock
• begging and prostitution

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EXPLOITATION OF KINSHIP TIES

• sharing of food
• loaning of livestock, tools, seed
• working for a richer relative
• remittances

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FOOD INTAKE

• Government response
• Assessments and use of EWS
• Bring in food aid
• Safety nets (FFW, CFW)
• Well and borehole digging

• Community response
• Sharing
• Agreed access to wild foods
• Food aid targeting
• Preservation of food
• Well digging

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DISPLACEMENT

• Government response
• Facilitation/prevention of movement (food aid,
  CCW, FFW can prevent movement)
• Land tenure policy (Ethiopia) loss of rights to
  use land
• Re-settlement

• Community response
• Traditional institutions negotiate passage and
  mitigate conflict
• Grazing in National Parks
• Use kinship ties to find work
• Traditional migration routes using local
  know-ledge

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DIVERSIFICATION OF INCOME

• Government response
• Increase access to markets, MIS
• improve infrastructure
• Subsidised veterinary support, seed tool
  distribution
• Safety nets, FFW, CFW, micro-credit

• Community response
• Close monitoring of terms of trade
• Community-managed access to natural resources

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EXPLOITATION OF KINSHIP TIES

• Government response
• Information on communities needed for targeting
  of food aid

• Community response
• Food aid targeting often through clans or related
  groups

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LINKING COMMUNITY RESPONSE TO GOVERNMENT RESPONSE
Councils of traditional leaders District and
Village Level Steering committees EWS using
traditional drought indicators and collected and
monitored by the community
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SUMMARY
Drought has wide reaching effects on rural
communities, including social disruption,
displacement and loss of assets. Traditional
coping mechanisms are used by all rural
communities to withstand the effects of drought
and many of them could be supported through
policy. By strengthening links between
communities and government, policies could be
influenced to take local views into account.