Pulse Brain · Growing Health Evidence Index
Peer-reviewed

Over-reliance on water infrastructure can hinder climate resilience in pastoral drylands

Luigi Piemontese; Stefano Terzi; Giuliano Di Baldassarre; Diego Augusto Menestrey Schwieger; Giulio Castelli; Elena Bresci

Nature Climate Change · 2024

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Summary

Abstract Extreme droughts are affecting millions of livestock farmers in sub-Saharan Africa, causing water shortages, famines, migration and fatalities. The construction of new small water infrastructures (SWIs), such as deep wells and boreholes, is increasingly supported by climate resilience programmes of non-governmental organizations and national governments to improve water availability for agro-pastoralists, especially as an emergency response to extreme droughts. Although the short-term benefits of SWI are clear, their potential cumulative impact and their long-term effects on the resilience of dryland communities remain unclear. Here, building on in-depth anthropological literature from five key African drylands, we model post-drought pastoralists’ dynamics related to SWI. We show

Source type
Peer-reviewed study
DOI
10.1038/s41558-024-01929-z
Catalogue ID
NRmo9zxr64-05j
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