Over the centries a close association has existed between the enviroment and the people who inhabit it. Traditionally this was a sustainable existance uninfluenced by outside factors. It was represented by a mobile population able to follow the rains irrespective of international borders. In a nutshell, the low precipitation and high evaporation were the principal constaints such that crops could rarely be grown and the people needed to move to find grazings. The model was a simple one. As the population grew (high Birth Rate; falling Death Rate) so a vicious cycle crept in resulting in the degradation of the rangelands. Bit by bit the natural cycle has been influenced by a number of Push and Pull factors.
Coping with Change:
So how does the population respond agriculturally to these changes? All of the following apply to the study area with varying degrees of success.
- Maintain the status quo (nomadism; dry farming)
- Become sedentary (rangeland rotation; tankers and bowsers; buy in feeds; cooperatives; village clusters)
- Manage the soils (clear the surface rocks; ridging; fertilizers)
- Change the micro-climate(plastic sheeting; polytunnels; drip-feed; centripivotal)
- Manage the livestock (vaccinations; selective breeding)
- Seek alternatives (beekeeping; camel farming)
- Seek alternatives employment (tourism; quarrying; transport; military)
- Move away
Reference:
Tanner R. 2001 "An Arab agricultural revolution." Geography Review Vol.14 No. 4 pp 9 - 11.
