TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT, RAINWATER UTILIZATION, ECOLOGICAL CHANGES AND ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION IN THE DRYLANDS OF EAST AFRICA

摘要

The drylands of the world are commonly refercd to as arid and/or sami-arid lands. All these lands are characterised by moisture deficiency. Technological development in most drylands the world over has been in the form of water supplement to enhance crop production or to ensure sustainable water supplies for both man and his animals. Efforts to ensure continued land productivity for crop and/or animal production have seen the introduc-tion of heavy farm machinery, introduction and/or expansion of irrigated agriculture, heavy fertilizer and pesticides usage as well as the encourage-ment of permanent settlements where they never existed. In some of the areas, dams have been built to store water of the seasonal rivers to meet the demands during the dry seasons. In some others, dryland fanning techniques in the form of micro-catchments, earth bunds and other western designed water harvesting techniques have been employed.