This special issue of Great Plains Quarterly includes the papers from the international sessions of the symposium, beginning with the keynote address by J. M. Powell,  Abideth Forever?  Global Use of Semiarid Lands in the Interwar Years.  Powell\u27s thesis is that the new nationalisms, old imperial networks, and burgeoning successes and ambitions of scientists combined between the two world wars to create new systems of land use in semiarid regions. In his introduction, Powell poses an interesting question: Were decisions about the management of these fragile ecosystems developed within the region as a result of experience, or outside the region in response to planners\u27 hopes for the society as a whole? His conclusions are revealing and provide challenges for the future management of semiarid lands

Wilhite, Donald A.

English

DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska

University of Nebraska - Lincoln DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln Great Plains Quarterly Great Plains Studies, Center for 1986 INTERNATIONAL DROUGHT MITIGATION AN INTRODUCTION Donald A. Wilhite University of Nebraska-Lincoln, dwilhite2@unl.edu Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/greatplainsquarterly  Part of the Other International and Area Studies Commons Wilhite, Donald A., "INTERNATIONAL DROUGHT MITIGATION AN INTRODUCTION" (1986). Great Plains Quarterly. 986. https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/greatplainsquarterly/986 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Great Plains Studies, Center for at DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. It has been accepted for inclusion in Great Plains Quarterly by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. INTERNATIONAL DROUGHT MITIGATION AN INTRODUCTION For centuries human beings have struggled to develop economic systems that are in harmony with the environmental constraints imposed by semiarid lands. Although most scientists would agree that harmony between the environment and agricultural development in these ecologically-sensitive zones is an achievable goal, historically such a goal has rarely been attained. Witness, for example, the recent expansion of the African deserts into the marginal rainfall zones of the Sahel. Semiarid zones make up approximately 8.2 million square miles, or about 16 percent of the earth's total land surface. However, the natural variability of climate in these zones causes them to expand and contract annually, fluctuating between greater and lesser aridity. Drought is a normal feature of their climate. In March 1985 a symposium Social Adaptation to Semiarid Environments was sponsored by the Center for Great Plains Studies at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. The symposi-um explored the ways in which societies have adjusted in the past, are currently responding, and can adapt more effectively in the future to the problems of semiarid environments. This special issue of Great Plains Quarterly includes the papers from the international sessions of the symposium, beginning with the keynote address by J. M. Powell, "Abideth Forever?" Global Use of Semiarid Lands in the 148 Interwar Years." Powell's thesis is that the new nationalisms, old imperial networks, and bur-geoning successes and ambitions of scientists combined between the two world wars to create new systems of land use in semiarid regions. In his introd'.lCtion, Powell poses an interesting question: Were decisions about the management of these fragile ecosystems devel-oped within the region as a result of experi-ence, or outside the region in response to planners' hopes for the society as a whole? His conclusions are revealing and provide chal-lenges for the future management of semiarid lands. A. A. den Otter's article, "Adapting the Environment: Ranching, Irrigation, and Dry Land Farming in Southern Alberta, 1880-1914," examines the views on land use prevalent during the settlement period as well as the social and political conflicts that arose between the special interest groups represent-ing ranching, dryland farming, and irrigation. The author views the process as one of adapting the environment rather than adapt-ing to the environment. Historians and others will be interested not only in the experiences of the early settlers of southern Alberta but also the parallels between their experiences and those of their peers to the south. In "Rural Social Organization in a Semiar-id African Country: The Case of Botswana," Louise Fortmann examines relationships be-tween the structure of rural social organization in the semiarid regions of Botswana and climatic, social, political, and economic fac-tors. Despite the impact of new technologies that mitigate its effects, climate remains an important influence on social organization in Botswana, although Fortmann views social, political, and economic factors as important in mitigating the effects of climate. She argues that the spatial and economic flexibility that continues to be an integral part of the system of social organization in the semiarid region of Botswana is largely responsible for the suc-cesses in adapting to this environment. In recognition of the fiftieth anniversary of the Dust Bowl, the symposium featured a special session that compared the specific drought mitigation strategies adopted on the North American Great Plains to those adopted in other semiarid environments. In "Adaptations to Adversity: Agriculture, Cli-mate, and the Great Plains of North Ameri-ca," N. J. Rosenberg discusses drought as the primary constraint to agricultural devel-opment in the region. He presents both examples of drought strategies such as irriga-tion that have enabled agriculturalists to evade some of the effects of drought and examples of techniques such as the modification of plant architecture with the potential to improve still further our adaptation to drought. He divides these strategies into two groups-those that increase water supply and those that reduce demand. Rosenberg concludes his paper with a discussion of the implications for Great Plains agriculture of the climate change humans may be inducing by increasing concentrations of atmospheric carbon dioxide. Huang Bingwei's article, "Water Conser-vancy and Agricultural Development of the North China Plain and Loess Highlands: Strategies and Research," examines the water management problems resulting from the conflict between the need for greater agricul-tural development and the pressures of increas-ing urbanization and industrial development in the North China Plain. As it does in the INTRODUCTION 149 North American Great Plains, drought rep-resents the primary hazard to agricultural production in the North China Plain and irrigation is the primary drought-mitigating strategy. However, at times, flooding is also a significant hazard, reducing agricultural pro-duction and threatening human lives, especial-ly along the Yellow River. The current challenge is to optimize the use of existing water resources through improved manage-ment by, for instance, expanding the multiple and other cropping systems that take full advantage of temperature and soil moisture regimes and improved irrigation efficiency. The Australian adaptive process has been significantly different from that of the North American Great Plains and the North China Plain because irrigation has not been a feasible strategy for reducing the vulnerability to drought of the semiarid lands. R. L. Heath-cote's article, "Drought Mitigation in Austra-lia: Reducing the Losses but Not Removing the Hazard," concludes that drought and high rainfall variability has significantly retarded land settlement. Heathcote views past, pres-ent, and future applications of technology as providing fewer opportunities for the mitiga-tion of drought impact in Australia than does Rosenberg for the North American Great Plains. Randall Baker examines the circumstances surrounding the current drought situation in Africa and the "crisis management" mentality applied to society's response to this catastroph-ic event. His article, "The African Experience: Drought and Famine in the Dry Zone," is critical of the view that the recent rainfall patterns that have characterized the semiarid zones of Africa are anomalies and that prob-lems will disappear when conditions return to "normal." He also discusses the relationships between drought and mismanagement, the inappropriate use of technology, and the expansion of peoples into fragile marginal areas. Baker suggests that technology, partic-ularly irrigation, in the semiarid lands in Africa has led to overgrazing rather than to a reduction in drought impacts. He identifies the 150 GREAT PLAINS QUARTERLY, SUMMER 1986 focus of agricultural research on cash crops rather than grain crops as one of the funda-mental problems retarding the development of sustainable agriculture in these dry zones. P. E. Lydolph presents the final article of the series, "Comparative Drought Strategies: The Soviet Union." He provides a fascinating comparison of the agroclimatic regions of the Soviet Union and the United States, centering on how the climatic characteristics impose greater constraints on agriculture in the Soviet Union than in the United States because fewer combinations of adequate heat and moisture supply exist. Thus, marginal semiarid lands in the Soviet Union are under considerably more pressure to produce foodstuffs than are similar regions in the United States. Lydolph also explores Soviet application of technologies such as irrigation, shelter belts, conservation tillage, and development of drought resistant varieties to counter drought. He concludes that Soviet agriculture will continue to operate under stricter environmental constraints than American agriculture. This special issue of Great Plains Quarterly describes the adaptive process in semiarid environments under different sociopolitical and economic systems and gives an insightful look at future prospects. These articles suggest that although there is a certain commonality in this process, the experience of each region is unique, indicating there is a great deal that can be learned about the management of semiarid environments from past experiences. Increas-ing population pressures dictate that semiarid environments will continue to be important agricultural regions. However, the knowledge and insights gained from the contents of this volume offer a better understanding of the roles that climate, sociopolitical, and economic forces play in this adaptive process. The challenge is to develop an agricultural system that is sustainable given the presence of these forces. DONALD A. WILHITE Center for Agricultural Meteorology & Climatology University of Nebraska-Lincoln 

INTERNATIONAL DROUGHT MITIGATION AN INTRODUCTION

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University of Nebraska - Lincoln 
DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln 
Great Plains Quarterly Great Plains Studies, Center for 
1986 
INTERNATIONAL DROUGHT MITIGATION AN INTRODUCTION 
Donald A. Wilhite 
University of Nebraska-Lincoln, dwilhite2@unl.edu 
Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/greatplainsquarterly 
 Part of the Other International and Area Studies Commons 
Wilhite, Donald A., "INTERNATIONAL DROUGHT MITIGATION AN INTRODUCTION" (1986). Great Plains 
Quarterly. 986. 
https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/greatplainsquarterly/986 
This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Great Plains Studies, Center for at 
DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. It has been accepted for inclusion in Great Plains Quarterly by an 
authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. 
INTERNATIONAL DROUGHT MITIGATION 
AN INTRODUCTION 
For centuries human beings have struggled 
to develop economic systems that are in 
harmony with the environmental constraints 
imposed by semiarid lands. Although most 
scientists would agree that harmony between 
the environment and agricultural development 
in these ecologically-sensitive zones is an 
achievable goal, historically such a goal has 
rarely been attained. Witness, for example, the 
recent expansion of the African deserts into 
the marginal rainfall zones of the Sahel. 
Semiarid zones make up approximately 8.2 
million square miles, or about 16 percent of 
the earth's total land surface. However, the 
natural variability of climate in these zones 
causes them to expand and contract annually, 
fluctuating between greater and lesser aridity. 
Drought is a normal feature of their climate. In 
March 1985 a symposium Social Adaptation 
to Semiarid Environments was sponsored by 
the Center for Great Plains Studies at the 
University of Nebraska-Lincoln. The symposi-
um explored the ways in which societies have 
adjusted in the past, are currently responding, 
and can adapt more effectively in the future to 
the problems of semiarid environments. 
This special issue of Great Plains Quarterly 
includes the papers from the international 
sessions of the symposium, beginning with the 
keynote address by J. M. Powell, "Abideth 
Forever?" Global Use of Semiarid Lands in the 
148 
Interwar Years." Powell's thesis is that the new 
nationalisms, old imperial networks, and bur-
geoning successes and ambitions of scientists 
combined between the two world wars to 
create new systems of land use in semiarid 
regions. In his introd'.lCtion, Powell poses an 
interesting question: Were decisions about the 
management of these fragile ecosystems devel-
oped within the region as a result of experi-
ence, or outside the region in response to 
planners' hopes for the society as a whole? His 
conclusions are revealing and provide chal-
lenges for the future management of semiarid 
lands. 
A. A. den Otter's article, "Adapting the 
Environment: Ranching, Irrigation, and Dry 
Land Farming in Southern Alberta, 
1880-1914," examines the views on land use 
prevalent during the settlement period as well 
as the social and political conflicts that arose 
between the special interest groups represent-
ing ranching, dryland farming, and irrigation. 
The author views the process as one of 
adapting the environment rather than adapt-
ing to the environment. Historians and others 
will be interested not only in the experiences of 
the early settlers of southern Alberta but also 
the parallels between their experiences and 
those of their peers to the south. 
In "Rural Social Organization in a Semiar-
id African Country: The Case of Botswana," 
Louise Fortmann examines relationships be-
tween the structure of rural social organization 
in the semiarid regions of Botswana and 
climatic, social, political, and economic fac-
tors. Despite the impact of new technologies 
that mitigate its effects, climate remains an 
important influence on social organization in 
Botswana, although Fortmann views social, 
political, and economic factors as important in 
mitigating the effects of climate. She argues 
that the spatial and economic flexibility that 
continues to be an integral part of the system 
of social organization in the semiarid region of 
Botswana is largely responsible for the suc-
cesses in adapting to this environment. 
In recognition of the fiftieth anniversary of 
the Dust Bowl, the symposium featured a 
special session that compared the specific 
drought mitigation strategies adopted on the 
North American Great Plains to those 
adopted in other semiarid environments. In 
"Adaptations to Adversity: Agriculture, Cli-
mate, and the Great Plains of North Ameri-
ca," N. J. Rosenberg discusses drought as the 
primary constraint to agricultural devel-
opment in the region. He presents both 
examples of drought strategies such as irriga-
tion that have enabled agriculturalists to evade 
some of the effects of drought and examples of 
techniques such as the modification of plant 
architecture with the potential to improve still 
further our adaptation to drought. He divides 
these strategies into two groups-those that 
increase water supply and those that reduce 
demand. Rosenberg concludes his paper with a 
discussion of the implications for Great Plains 
agriculture of the climate change humans may 
be inducing by increasing concentrations of 
atmospheric carbon dioxide. 
Huang Bingwei's article, "Water Conser-
vancy and Agricultural Development of the 
North China Plain and Loess Highlands: 
Strategies and Research," examines the water 
management problems resulting from the 
conflict between the need for greater agricul-
tural development and the pressures of increas-
ing urbanization and industrial development 
in the North China Plain. As it does in the 
INTRODUCTION 149 
North American Great Plains, drought rep-
resents the primary hazard to agricultural 
production in the North China Plain and 
irrigation is the primary drought-mitigating 
strategy. However, at times, flooding is also a 
significant hazard, reducing agricultural pro-
duction and threatening human lives, especial-
ly along the Yellow River. The current 
challenge is to optimize the use of existing 
water resources through improved manage-
ment by, for instance, expanding the multiple 
and other cropping systems that take full 
advantage of temperature and soil moisture 
regimes and improved irrigation efficiency. 
The Australian adaptive process has been 
significantly different from that of the North 
American Great Plains and the North China 
Plain because irrigation has not been a feasible 
strategy for reducing the vulnerability to 
drought of the semiarid lands. R. L. Heath-
cote's article, "Drought Mitigation in Austra-
lia: Reducing the Losses but Not Removing the 
Hazard," concludes that drought and high 
rainfall variability has significantly retarded 
land settlement. Heathcote views past, pres-
ent, and future applications of technology as 
providing fewer opportunities for the mitiga-
tion of drought impact in Australia than does 
Rosenberg for the North American Great 
Plains. 
Randall Baker examines the circumstances 
surrounding the current drought situation in 
Africa and the "crisis management" mentality 
applied to society's response to this catastroph-
ic event. His article, "The African Experience: 
Drought and Famine in the Dry Zone," is 
critical of the view that the recent rainfall 
patterns that have characterized the semiarid 
zones of Africa are anomalies and that prob-
lems will disappear when conditions return to 
"normal." He also discusses the relationships 
between drought and mismanagement, the 
inappropriate use of technology, and the 
expansion of peoples into fragile marginal 
areas. Baker suggests that technology, partic-
ularly irrigation, in the semiarid lands in 
Africa has led to overgrazing rather than to a 
reduction in drought impacts. He identifies the 
150 GREAT PLAINS QUARTERLY, SUMMER 1986 
focus of agricultural research on cash crops 
rather than grain crops as one of the funda-
mental problems retarding the development of 
sustainable agriculture in these dry zones. 
P. E. Lydolph presents the final article of 
the series, "Comparative Drought Strategies: 
The Soviet Union." He provides a fascinating 
comparison of the agroclimatic regions of the 
Soviet Union and the United States, centering 
on how the climatic characteristics impose 
greater constraints on agriculture in the Soviet 
Union than in the United States because fewer 
combinations of adequate heat and moisture 
supply exist. Thus, marginal semiarid lands in 
the Soviet Union are under considerably more 
pressure to produce foodstuffs than are similar 
regions in the United States. Lydolph also 
explores Soviet application of technologies 
such as irrigation, shelter belts, conservation 
tillage, and development of drought resistant 
varieties to counter drought. He concludes 
that Soviet agriculture will continue to operate 
under stricter environmental constraints than 
American agriculture. 
This special issue of Great Plains Quarterly 
describes the adaptive process in semiarid 
environments under different sociopolitical 
and economic systems and gives an insightful 
look at future prospects. These articles suggest 
that although there is a certain commonality 
in this process, the experience of each region is 
unique, indicating there is a great deal that can 
be learned about the management of semiarid 
environments from past experiences. Increas-
ing population pressures dictate that semiarid 
environments will continue to be important 
agricultural regions. However, the knowledge 
and insights gained from the contents of this 
volume offer a better understanding of the 
roles that climate, sociopolitical, and economic 
forces play in this adaptive process. The 
challenge is to develop an agricultural system 
that is sustainable given the presence of these 
forces. 
DONALD A. WILHITE 
Center for Agricultural 
Meteorology & Climatology 
University of Nebraska-Lincoln 


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