In 2014, Yemen reported a population of 26.25 million whilst only having 120m3 per capita of water availability (USAID from the American People, 2012). This is a mere 2% of the average global per capita availability (USAID from the American People, 2012), showing the severity of Yemen’s water crisis. The crisis is caused by several factors which effect the daily life of its citizens and thus, measures to combat this crisis must be implemented. Through investigating the causes of the water crisis, and understanding the severity of its effects, feasible solutions can be proposed.
Water is an essential unit of life, a basic human right, and
thus the thought of being deprived of it, is frightening, and requires
immediate attention.
Yemen’s geographic location makes it susceptible to water
shortages. It’s located on a dry portion of the Arabian Peninsula and is
classified as a Bwh climate. Furthermore, it doesn’t have any permanent rivers,
only wadis, which are intermittently dry riverbeds. Thus, rainfall and
groundwater are the only consistent sources of water (Hettle, 2016).
Yemen doesn’t receive a lot of precipitation. Being a Bwh
climate, Yemen is a desert climate, receiving no more than 200mm of
precipitation annually. This is demonstrated in the graph which quantifies the
average amount of rainfall per month in Yemen from 1901-2015. April, May, July
and August are the only months to get moderate rainfall, whereas the rest of
the months receive low amounts. To put things into perspective, from 1991-2015,
Yemen’s annual average rainfall was 170.8mm, compared with Canada’s annual
average of 452.6mm (The World Bank Group, 2018).
Climate change patterns predict that Yemen will receive
more precipitation over the years, to the point of extreme monsoons and
flooding. Flooding would lead to sea water leaking into freshwater aquifers,
making the water salty and unusable. Temperatures are predicted to increase, a
+2 degree increase could bring heat waves which dry up water sources.
Groundwater supplies Yemen’s other primary source of clean water. “These
reservoirs are being tapped into at alarming rates, faster than they can be
replenished, and are predicted to decrease by 6 meters a year in crowded
regions. It is predicted that approximately 10 generations worth of Yemen’s
water is currently being used (The World Bank, 2014)”.
The ineffective use of water in agriculture strains Yemen’s
water supply. Growing agriculture uses about 93% of Yemen’s potable water
(Almas, Scholz, 2006). Farmers use labour-intensive, wasteful watering
techniques such as flood irrigation to grow crops (Heffez, 2013). Flood
irrigation delivers water to the crop by pipe which flows over the ground to
the crop. It’s inefficient as approximately only 50% of the water utilized,
goes to the crop. The practise persists because of the cultural belief that it
brings honour to the farmer, as the more labour-intensive the agricultural
practise, the more honour associated.
Cultivation of qat, a narcotic drug, is water intensive,
using up to 40% of Yemen’s water resources (Hezzef, 2013). Growth of qat
increases by 12% each year (Hezzef, 2013), and with that, the amounts of water
required to grow the crop, increases. Yemen’s economy is shifting from
sustenance farming, to the Qat industry to meet the demand of the population.
The image on the left taken in 1993 shows the sheer amount of qat fields
in Yemen which has since increased.
Yemen has been ravaged by war. The entire country is inhabited by military forces and is war torn. One of the consequences of this war is that water and sanitation systems have been severely damaged leaving people without clean water. Further, current water sources are controlled by opposing forces of the war, blocking deliveries of humanitarian aid of food and water to use as leverage against the opposing side. In Feb2016, Saudi planes destroyed a water reservoir that served as a source of drinking water for thirty thousand people (Suter, 2017).
The lack of clean water has resulted
in individuals turning to unsanitary water sources, causing disease to
increase. The incidence of cholera, a disease causing severely watery diarrhea
and dehydration, has increased through the crisis. Since April of 2017,
cholera has killed 2300 individuals (Smith-Spark, 2018) and the numbers
will rise unless sanitary water becomes accessible. The map shows the
distribution of cholera throughout Yemen. In sparsely populated areas, cholera
cases are lower, due to individuals being farther apart, preventing spread of
the disease.
Food agriculture shortage
will arise from lack of water for irrigation. Currently, 93% of water goes
to agriculture irrigation, and 40% of the resources go to qat, the narcotic,
irrigation. Qat covers 38% of Yemen’s irrigated areas (The World Bank, 2014),
and as the industry grows it’s allocated more water, leaving less space and
water for growth of food agriculture. Consequently, there will be food
shortages. The image shows a malnourished Yemenis child. Malnutrition will
become prevalent, as less food crop is cultivated, depriving the Yemenis of
nutrients and energy they need.
In order to support the growing agriculture industry, more
sustainable watering techniques must be used.
Floor irrigation is popular but wasteful, and thus better
policies must be enacted that enforce sustainable forms of irrigation. Drip
irrigation delivers water directly to a plant’s root, reducing the amount of
water that evaporates and limiting runoff (Green Education Foundation, 2017).
Enacting policies that limit the growth of Qat, at
least until the ground water levels are able to recharge, would lift a massive
strain on the water supply.
Further, Yemen could shift into drought tolerant crops
in order to increase the amount of food that is harvestable at a lower level of
water consumption.
Yemen lacks the infrastructure to harvest precipitation
causing them to rely on groundwater sources. Limited annual precipitation
and future climate change make it imperative that Yemen invest in the necessary
infrastructure now.
A rainwater harvesting system allows individuals to
capture and store rain. The image depicts rainwater harvesting infrastructure:
gutters through which rainfall can be caught and travel, a downpipe that leads
from the gutter into a storage tank, and the storage tank itself (Al Saidi,
Saleh, Al-Eryani, Alwadei, 2015). Unfiltered rain water can be used for
irrigation, cleaning, and for washrooms. As 93% of Yemen’s potable water
goes to irrigation, using rainwater for irrigation lifts a burden on the
groundwater supply. If filtered correctly, rain water can be used for anything.
Yemen is facing a serious water
crisis due to climate change, war, and unsustainable farming practises. Water
scarcity has consequences that extend into the wellbeing of individuals such as
cholera outbreaks and agriculture shortages. Water levels can be managed
through sustainable farming practises as well as rainwater harvesting. While
present day Yemen is facing a severe water crisis, its future does not need to
share the same grim reality, and this can be achieved through sustainable water
usage.
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