Geography LORMS

Qns: Evaluate the effectiveness of drought management strategies.

There are many suggested solutions in taming droughts.

Afforestation refers to the growing of trees on land that was originally used for other
purposes. For example, in Brazil, the government and the Amazon research ecological
centre stopped land used for agriculture to be used as a tree farm to grow more trees.
More trees would be able to provide more shade for grounds to reduce temperatures
and also purify the air of the greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide. However, this method is
not feasible in many places such as the Sahel region as governments tend to focus on
economic growth first, which lead to deforestation instead.

Using advanced technology refers to using technology to find new sources of water.
Some examples are desalination plants which convert sea water in to purified,
distilled water for drinking and agriculture. For example, Singapore uses desalination
plants to purify water through reverse osmosis to rely less on other countries for
water. However, this method may not be feasible in a place like the Sahel as sonly
countries with strong economic wealth can afford the technology and educated
manpower.

Water storage refers to storing water for times in need like the Sahel drought. This is a
cheaper way to make sure that water is available in times of need. Irrigation systems
are also used to transport water from place to place. For example, in the United States
of America, irrigation systems are used to transfer water from Colorado river to parts
of Colorado, where droughts are frequent, for agriculture. However, this method may
not be feasible for places such as the Sahel region as strong increases in temperature
in places like deserts will cause the water in evaporate from rivers and canals.

In conclusion, methods used to tackle droughts are effective only if the country has
strong economic wealth to support its people, places like Singapore and the United
States of America, to afford the technology and also have enough supplies to meet the
needs of the people without compromising the methods. In a place like the Sahel,
these methods would not be as effective.