The Droughts | it causes, effects and ways to reduce it
Subject: Drought has become a chronic phenomenon. What are the ways to
reduce its effects?
Drought has become in recent years a major problem that haunts humanity and worries officials in many countries of the world, as drought is no longer as in the past just an occasional condition that appears from one period to another, but has become a chronic phenomenon that humans should adapt to and take into account in all food and development policies in general. But is there a way to reduce its effects if its causes cannot be addressed?
Causes and effects of drought
The scourge of drought is no longer confined to some parts of the globe
and not others, as was the case in a few countries such as the Sahel countries
in Africa, it affects various countries, including those that were known for
their abundance of water and abundant rainfall. A country like Australia, one
of the largest cereal producers, has suffered in recent years from a severe
drought that has resulted in crop shortages and skyrocketing world cereal
prices, resulting in Social and political unrest in many countries, especially
the poorest ones.
Scientists and researchers attribute this phenomenon to various factors.
Perhaps the most important of these reasons is the major climatic imbalances
that the planet has been witnessing for decades due to pollution, global
warming, desertification, shrinking forest areas, depletion of water brushes
and melting icebergs in the Arctic. This is in addition to the erratic
rainfall, which often takes the form of strong storms that result in severe
floods that erode the soil and damage agricultural crops. On the other hand,
there is the pollution factor: toxic chemicals emitted from factory chimneys,
car exhaust and other waste contaminate the water, making it undrinkable and
unusable for irrigation. Moreover, the exponential demographic growth and
steady development of industrial and agricultural activity that the world has
witnessed since the end of the Second World War are increasing the pressure on
water resources, leading to their shrinking and erosion. For years, scientists
have been sounding the alarm and warning of a real catastrophe.
The drought dilemma poses a real threat to humanity and threatens
millions with death from thirst and starvation, and most of all, future wars
between the countries of the globe will be fought because of the conflict over
water sources. The inhabitants of the valleys in particular, as well as the
inhabitants of some cities, are suffering from a lack of this vital material,
which has become known as blue gold due to its great value. Villagers have to
walk kilometers to get something to quench their thirst. Because of the
drought, many migrated their villages and towns after abandoning their
agricultural activity and headed towards Major cities where they are crowded in
marginal neighborhoods that do not meet the conditions for a decent living. It
is alsothe case in many countries, such as the African Sahel countries, where
thousands of people die every year from thirst and hunger. Indeed, rich and
technologically advanced countries are beginning to fear desertification and
water scarcity.
But is drought inevitable and helpless in the face of its devastating
effects? Are there no solutions to reduce its effects if its causes cannot be
addressed?
Effective solutions to reduce the effects of drought
The scientific research carried out by scientists in many institutes and
scientific research centers around the world almost unanimously agrees that the
causes and causes of drought are human, not climatic and natural. While some do
not exclude the natural factor as a drought trigger, the main factor remains
human activity on earth, so effective solutions to the phenomenon of drought
remain possible and possible. Indeed, most, if not all, scientists, but even
politicians, heads of state and UN officials agree on the need to reduce the
scourge of pollution and work to solve the dilemma of global warming. In this
regard, many conferences have been held to examine possible solutions, from the
Rio de Janeiro summit held in Brazil in 1992 to the Kyoto summit in Japan in
1997, governmental and non-governmental conferences have been held and engaged
in the search for the reservoirs of the disease and ways of treatment. Indeed,
the issue of drought and pollution has become strongly present in the G8
summits, which are dominated by issues of a political and economic nature. Due
to its extreme importance, the environment has become an essential component of
state policies, with ministries allocated to it, as in Morocco.
In order to reduce the phenomenon of water, air, and environmental
pollution, many countries have begun to treat wastewater and wastewater from
residential complexes and factories before it flows into the seas and rivers.
It has also begun to seriously consider ways to reduce the amount of carbon
dioxide emitted from factory chimneys and car exhaust. In this context,
scientific research centers have devoted their efforts to replacing traditional
polluting energy sources with renewable and less polluting alternative energies
such as nuclear, solar and wind energy.
Awareness of the need to repair what has been corrupted by human hands
in nature has grown. Governments and organizations have thus embarked on
planting trees and allocating large areas to create new forests in order to
preserve the environment and limit the encroachment of desertification, soil
erosion and the exacerbation of the scourge of carbon dioxide, which is
responsible for the ozone hole and global warming. International, regional and
national associations, organizations and bodies such as Green Peace have come
into being. International, regional and national associations, organizations
and bodies such as Green Peace have come into being. It is concerned with
protecting the environment and working to purify the water of the seas and
rivers from pollutants and spread awareness among the people, and even in the
agricultural field, efforts have focused on developing new plants and soils
that do not require much water.
However, the most important thing that must be done in the medium and
long term is to raise awareness among people of the importance of the
environment and water and the need to preserve them for the continuation of
life. The closest way to achieving this goal is through education and
information: Governments must enact education policies that devote considerable
space in their educational programmes to sensitizing pupils and students to the
dangers to humanity posed by water scarcity and low rainfall, and urging them
to avoid the causes of such a catastrophic situation. The same
awareness-raising role must be played by political parties and the media. Water
consumption must be rationalized, and wastewater must be disinfected for reuse.
The bottom line is that drought is not inevitable, but an inevitable
consequence of human activity on the globe. Agriculture, industry and massive
demographic growth put great pressure on water resources and lead to the
depletion of this vital material. In order to reduce its effects, it is
necessary to be aware of its risks, identify its causes and then work to
address them, especially by fighting pollution and global warming, searching
for alternative energies, constructing dams, and rationalizing water consumption.