The Drought Problem in Southwest Angola

The southwestern region of Angola has been plagued by drought episodes for about four decades. However, the severe episodes of this phenomenon started in the late 1990s. The southwestern region of Angola has been plagued by drought episodes for about four decades. However, the severe episodes of this phenomenon started in the late 1990s.

The drought has been negatively impacting the lives of the populations in different sectors, namely, health, education, and agriculture and in general, interferes with the economic growth and development of the provinces located in this region. In these locations, the soils have low humidity rates and high evaporation rates, the landscape is characterized by deserts, savannahs, and forests, and the rainfall indicators point to an average rainfall of 312 mm per year. The combination of these factors has potentiated the prevalence of this phenomenon called drought.

What then is drought?

Drought is a natural phenomenon associated with longer or shorter periods of reduced rainfall in a given geographical region. Consequently, there is not enough water to meet the needs of humans, animals, and plants. Reports produced by the National Civil Protection Commission (CNPC), European Union (EU), FRESAN, UNICEF, and World Bank reveal how catastrophic the drought situation has been in the south of the country.

In the period from 2012 to 2021 approximately 2.3 million people were directly affected by the drought (malnutrition, acute diseases), 810 thousand heads of cattle and one million goats and pigs were affected, and 1.3 million people suffered from acute food insecurity. The impact of the prolonged drought on the environment in general in the affected provinces is rapidly accelerating deforestation, land degradation, and depleting vital water resources, especially in Namibe and Cunene.

In turn, these conditions contribute to raising the level of future risks, namely desertification and the potential increase of floods due to soil erosion, thus increasing the level of vulnerability of local populations.  As for the economic and financial impacts, the reports produced by the CNPC estimate that the damages and losses in the agriculture sector were US$224.7 million and US$316.6 million respectively, while in the food security sector the losses are set at US$82 million.

Causes of the drought in south-west Angola

According to the Ministry of Agriculture (2019) and Mateus (2020), the drought that the country is facing is much more related to meteorological aspects. This rainfall deficit that is occurring is due to the following factors:  Rainfall deficit of more than 60%, compared to normal years, according to an assessment by the Ministry of Agriculture; Inhibition of convection and the consequent change in the characteristic of air circulation in the summer period in southern Africa, preventing the formation of the Zaire air convergence zone; The position of the intertropical convergence zone was well north of the country, which made it impossible to transport moisture and consequently caused rainfall deficits.  

Recommendations and ongoing actions

• Conduct an exhaustive inventory of existing data on water points, boreholes, and other water supply infrastructure in the region. 
• Invest in rural infrastructure Although the government of Angola is investing in new dams and water transfers in the Cunene-Cuvelai basins, and plans six new dams in the coastal basins of Namibe;
• Construction of large-diameter wells to capture groundwater in shallow aquifers: often located along (dry) riverbeds or depressions; 

Conclusively, environmental education and the implementation of measures aimed at reducing the risks of populations to the phenomenon of drought and in general, to the growing impact caused by climate change should be prioritized.