ABSTRACT
Droughts of the magnitude experienced by Somalia in 1974 have not been recorded in the modern history of that country. An explanation of this fact is not difficult to find. Never before were the affected regions exposed to such a degree of overpopulation, both human and animal, as took place there in recent years. Never before were the grasslands more degraded. It is not surprising, therefore, that under these extremely precarious conditions, the failure of rainfall for several consecutive years produced disastrous results.
