Yemen's water crisis (Health).

Traditional springs and wells used by Yemenis in rural areas have been gradually drying out because of the rapid depletion of groundwater. Rural communities have put their efforts together to dig deeper through the use of modern techniques, but this has led to the further exhaustion of groundwater resources to the extent that many Yemeni governorates are today at risk of drought.

Rainwater accumulated in the Sana'a basin over a whole year represents only half the amount of water consumed annually by the Sana'a governorate, mostly in irrigation.

The problem is the same all around the country because the rate of groundwater accumulation is always slower than the rate at which it is extracted for consumption, especially with the use of modern techniques.

There are areas in which the decline of the groundwater level is more than six meters a year. Even in coastal cities, the threat of water depletion has loomed. In Aden, some officials said that there has been a sudden drop in the levels of water reserves in the Gash field, the water basin that feeds the city. Whereas a well in this field used to produce 20 liters per second 18 years ago, it now only produces four liters per second, a 75 percent decrease from previous years.

Many main cities currently are experiencing unprecedented water shortage, particularly as Water Authorities are unable to keep pace with new housing and industrial developments. Such cities' water supply in basins is reducing dramatically.

For example, some families in Taiz city are allowed a water share only once every 10 days' however, this period has been extended to a month in order for water to reach houses. Therefore, city authorities negotiated 10 years with the nearby rural area of Habir before reaching an agreement in 2002. Taiz is allowed to extract water from a previously untapped deep aquifer in exchange for investments in the village's water supply, schools and women's centers, as well as joint monitoring of water extraction to ensure a sustainable flow.

Such struggle or competition is not strange in Yemen, wherein total annual renewable water resources are estimated at 2.4 billion cubic meters. Thus, with a population of around 21 million, this amounts to little more than 125 cubic meters per person annually, compared with the Middle East and North Africa average of 1.250 cubic meters per person.

According to World Bank reports, Yemen's problem is more critical given that water resources are distributed unevenly and that 90 percent of the population has less than 90 cubic meters of water annually for domestic use, which is 10 percent below the worldwide norm. Reports estimate that only 44 percent of the population has access to main water supplies and only 12 percent to safe sanitation.

In general, all surface water resources -- 60 percent of Yemen's renewable resources -- already are being exploited beyond the level of renewal. This very rapid development has brought with it major problems. Groundwater is being mined at such a rate that parts of the rural economy could dry up. Areas under greatest pressure are the central highlands, the western escarpment and coastal plains.

Although Yemen has many authorities specialized in dealing with water issues, such as the Ministry of Water and Environment (MWE) and the National Water Resource Authority (NWRA), these authorities face many difficulties in activating rules and policies. Such authorities have lacked the technical means, legal instruments and political will to regulate sinking of wells and groundwater extraction.

Yemen is one of the most water-scarce countries in the world with, according to government figures, water consumption per capita standing at 125 cubic meters per year, well below the global average of 1,500 cubic meters per year.

The water crisis has led to competition for limited water resources, an increase in the value of water and a decline in personal hygiene and ensuing diseases in some rural areas. The scarcity of water for irrigation in agriculture has led to internal displacement and disputes over water resources account for over 70 percent of tribal conflicts.

"The total amount of water consumed annually in Yemen is 3.5 billion cubic meters, of which 93 percent is used in agriculture, 6 percent in households and 1 percent in industry," said Khalil Al-Maqtari, an official at the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation and a topography expert. "Renewable fresh water resources amount to 2.5 billion cubic meters per year, and the gap between the quantity of consumed water and renewable fresh water is 1 billion cubic meters a year."

Al-Maqtari explained that, by 2025 when the population is expected to have doubled, 4.6 billion cubic meters of water would be required and annual water consumption per head would probably decline from 125 to 62.5 cubic meters.

Rainfall

Average annual precipitation of rainwater has been estimated at 67.93 billion cubic meters, but trends are indicating that this average is decreasing mainly because of climate change, especially global warming which leads to a higher rate of the evaporation of rainwater from the earth's surface and vegetation.

In addition to natural factors, topographic factors in some regions make the water situation worse, especially in mountainous areas that do not naturally retain rainwater.

All these factors have led to the drought of many springs and wells and will expand the scope of desertification and the scarcity of water in a country where about 92 percent of the land is arid, semi-arid or desert, according to Al-Maqtari.

Weak water management

The depletion of groundwater has largely been attributed to its large consumption in the agricultural sector to achieve material profits under the fragility of inadequate institutional and legislative oversight. The proliferation of wells and water pumps for agricultural use has exacerbated the water problem. On a domestic level, water consumption also needs better management and old pipes contribute to more water being wasted than necessary.

Neglect of recent technical developments

Several studies have suggested that large quantities of water are wasted in traditional irrigation in areas already suffering from water shortages, such as for the orange trees in Sa'ada. Qat growers in areas where water is scarce, such as in the governorate of Sana'a, do not use modern irrigation methods, which increases the depletion of underground water resources for other crops and the poor who need it.

Population growth

With a high population growth of 3.02 percent, Yemen's water consumption is increasing annually. The following table shows water consumption and deficit according to population from 1990 to 2005.

Qat

Qat is the main reason for water depletion in agriculture. Surface area dedicated to qat cultivation has increased in the last years and so has the amount of water needed for its irrigation.

Studies indicated that, in 2000, about 102,934 hectares in Yemen were dedicated to qat cultivation, needing about 830 million cubic meters of water for their irrigation annually.

Qat cultivation consumes over 30 percent of the amount of water consumed by the whole Yemeni agricultural sector. High profits have encouraged qat farmers to dig numerous deep wells or to purchase water pumps, at the detriment of all other water consumers.

Water pollution

Sources of surface and groundwater pollution include oil, industrial waste, pesticides or sewage, as in the case of the wells in Al- Rawdah, Sana'a, which became contaminated by sewage water.

All these factors have exacerbated the water crisis.

Lack of legislation

To curtail the crisis, the government has focused on methods of rain water collection, notably by building and restoring dams, and has set up organizations specially to address the water problem, including the Team of Water Resources, the Social Fund for Development and the Sana'a Basin Project.

Government laws and regulations have contributed to better water management, but no laws exist to limit groundwater well drilling. Educational programs to rationalize water consumption in agriculture, industry, services, mosques and private homes are needed. Laws must also be issued to reduce the spread of qat cultivation and to attempt to replace the business with different agricultural production of economic benefit to strengthen the national economy, instead of other expensive solutions such as water desalination....

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