Introduction and overview : Typology and causes of emergency settlement

As the number of uprooted persons in the world increases, the size and frequency of emergency operations have increased and they are more complex. The crises are intertwined with a variety of political, military, economic, social and legal which involve complex historical origins and contemporary issues. However, the funds available for emergency protection and assistance are limited and there is an increasing tendency to limit assistance to life-sustaining relief items. While those who are providing humanitarian assistance cannot bring development or peace, international institutions and organizations can offer aid in a way that avoids reinforcing the problems that underlie emergencies and maximize opportunities to address and correct these problems (Anderson, 1993). Careful contextual analysis and strategic implementation of assistance is essential if the plight of the world's uprooted peoples is to be alleviated (AU)

Some aspects of the spatial characteristics of drought in northern Nigeria

A long-period instrumental data set (1916-1987) of monthly growing season (April-Octuber) rainfall totals for 34 stations in northen Nigeria is used to quantify drought fokkowing the method of H. N. Bhalme and D.A. Mooley. It is established are remarkable seasonal changes in the patterns of wetness and dryness over the region with no consistent recurrent spatial patterns in the moisture anomalies. Although discrete area do catch the brunt of drought on a year-by-by-year basis, drought occurrence in the region is largely sporadic in its spatial distribution. The rather noisy spatial characteristics of drought in northern Nigeria suggests that the seasonal shift in the Intertropical Discontinuty (ITD) is not likely the most important causal mechanism of drought in the region (AU)