British Geological Survey, West Mains Rd. Edinburgh, EH9 3LA, UK.
Ground Water. 2010 Mar-Apr;48(2):246-56. doi: 10.1111/j.1745-6584.2009.00558.x. Epub 2009 Apr 1.
Drought in Africa has been extensively researched, particularly from meteorological, agricultural, and food security perspectives. However, the impact of drought on water security, particularly ground water dependent rural water supplies, has received much less attention. Policy responses have concentrated on food needs, and it has often been difficult to mobilize resources for water interventions, despite evidence that access to safe water is a serious and interrelated concern. Studies carried out in Ghana, Malawi, South Africa, and Ethiopia highlight how rural livelihoods are affected by seasonal stress and longer-term drought. Declining access to food and water is a common and interrelated problem. Although ground water plays a vital role in buffering the effects of rainfall variability, water shortages and difficulties in accessing water that is available can affect domestic and productive water uses, with knock-on effects on food consumption and production. Total depletion of available ground water resources is rarely the main concern. A more common scenario is a spiral of water insecurity as shallow water sources fail, additional demands are put on remaining sources, and mechanical failures increase. These problems can be planned for within normal development programs. Water security mapping can help identify vulnerable areas, and changes to monitoring systems can ensure early detection of problems. Above all, increasing the coverage of ground water-based rural water supplies, and ensuring that the design and siting of water points is informed by an understanding of hydrogeological conditions and user demand, can significantly increase the resilience of rural communities to climate variability.
非洲的干旱问题已经得到了广泛研究，特别是从气象、农业和粮食安全的角度进行了研究。然而，干旱对水安全的影响，特别是对依赖地下水的农村供水系统的影响，却没有得到太多关注。政策应对措施主要集中在粮食需求上，尽管有证据表明获得安全饮用水是一个严重且相互关联的问题，但往往难以调动资源来进行水干预。在加纳、马拉维、南非和埃塞俄比亚开展的研究强调了农村生计如何受到季节性压力和长期干旱的影响。获取食物和水的机会减少是一个普遍存在且相互关联的问题。尽管地下水在缓冲降雨变化的影响方面发挥着至关重要的作用，但水资源短缺和获取可用水资源的困难会影响家庭和生产用水，从而对粮食消费和生产产生连锁反应。可用地下水资源的完全枯竭很少是主要关注点。更常见的情况是，随着浅层水源枯竭，对剩余水源的需求增加，机械故障增加，导致水不安全的螺旋式下降。这些问题可以在正常发展计划中进行规划。水安全图可以帮助确定脆弱地区，而监测系统的变化可以确保及早发现问题。最重要的是，增加基于地下水的农村供水的覆盖范围，并确保根据对水文地质条件和用户需求的了解来设计和选址供水点，可以显著提高农村社区对气候变化的适应能力。
