The Water Crisis in Yemen: Managing Extreme Water Scarcity in the Middle East

464 Pages·2014·5.633 MB·English

by  Christopher Ward

Christopher Ward is Honorary Research Fellow at MT Since the 1970s Yemen has undergone rapid social
A
the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies, University H and economic change. But the creation of the
‘What makes this book unique is that it draws from the author’s two decades of N
of Exeter. He was educated at Whitgift, St John’s A modern state has come at a cost, and the country
hands-on experience in the design of approaches and solutions, in seeing them GE
College, Oxford and St Antony’s College, Oxford. implemented and in evaluating their success, all in all enabling him to better I has fallen into a severe water crisis. Groundwater
He was formerly with the World Bank, working diagnose the problem and better identify choices for solutions.’ NG W THE WATER CRISIS IN is being extracted at such a rate that parts of the
largely in the field of natural resource management E rural economy could disappear within a generation.
Professor Mohammed al-Eryani, founding Minister of Water
and rural development in the Middle East and XA YEMEN In no other country in the Middle East are the
and Environment, Republic of Yemen T
Africa. He has lived in Yemen, Morocco, Saudi RT aquifers being exhausted so quickly.
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Arabia, Iran and Somalia, as well as Kenya, ME
‘The author has kept a promise that so many fail to deliver … an impressively
Madagascar and the USA. He is currently E Christopher Ward provides the first comprehensive
nuanced analysis of a political economy with arguably the most difficult water WR
a consultant to a number of international study of the water management crisis in Yemen
resource challenges in the world.’ A
organizations, including the World Bank, the UK Tony Allan, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London and TEC and presents a complete analysis, covering the
Department for International Development, the Emeritus Professor of Geography, King’s College London RR institutional, environmental, technical and political

Food and Agriculture Organization, Gesellschaft für S economy components. He assesses the social
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Internationale Zusammenarbeit and KfW. ‘All you need to know about the water problems of a near-waterless Middle AS and economic impacts of the crisis and provides
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in-depth case studies in the key management
Eastern country. A clear-eyed, helpful work by a wise man who obviously knows CI
I areas: water resources management; agricultural
what is wrong and what needs to be done about it.’ TS
Y water management and irrigation; urban water
Roger Owen, A.J. Meyer Professor of Middle East History, Harvard University
I
NI supply and sanitation; and rural water supply and
TN sanitation. He examines the range of policy and
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E programme responses to date and explores their
Y

M largely unsuccessful outcomes. In the final part of
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D the book the author evaluates the current strategy
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M and looks at future ways in which the people of
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E the country and their government can influence
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outcomes and make the transition to a sustainable
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SN water economy.
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Combining a historical perspective and an
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interdisciplinary approach, The Water Crisis in
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Yemen draws on both new field research and a
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I very wide set of official and unofficial information
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sources, much of it being made available for the
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O first time. The result offers a comprehensive,
P practical and effective approach to achieving
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sustainable and equitable water management in
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a country whose water problems are amongst the
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most serious in the world.
ISBN 978-1-78076-920-2 W
A MANAGING EXTREME WATER SCARCITY
R
D
9 781780 769202 IN THE MIDDLE EAST
Jacket images: (front) women fetching water, Shahara, Yemen
(photograph by Christophe Boisvieux/Getty Images);
(back) ancient terraces in a remote Yemeni village CHRISTOPHER WARD
(photograph courtesy of Peer Gatter) www.ibtauris.com
IB_WC IN YEMEN_AW.indd 1 26/09/2014 14:42
Christopher Ward is Honorary Research Fellow at the Institute of
Arab and Islamic Studies, University of Exeter. He was educated at
Whitgift, StJohn’sCollege,Oxford andStAntony’sCollege,Oxford. He
wasformerlywiththeWorldBank,workinglargelyinthefieldofnatural
resource management and rural development in the Middle East and
Africa. He has lived in Yemen, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Iran and Somalia,
aswellasKenya,MadagascarandtheUSA.Heiscurrentlyaconsultantto
a number of international organizations, including the World Bank, the
UKDepartmentforInternationalDevelopment,theFoodandAgriculture
Organization, Gesellschaft fu¨r Internationale Zusammenarbeit and KfW.
‘Whatmakesthisbookuniqueisthatitdrawsfromtheauthor’stwodecadesofhands-
onexperienceinthedesignofapproachesandsolutions,inseeingthemimplemented
andinevaluatingtheirsuccess,allinallenablinghimtobetterdiagnosetheproblem
andbetteridentifychoicesforsolutions.’
Professor Mohammedal-Eryani, foundingMinister of Water
and Environment,Republic of Yemen
‘Theauthorhaskeptapromisethatsomanyfailtodeliver:hehasshared,first,hisclose
observationofnaturalresourcemanagingpolitics,second,hisintimacywiththescience
and professional literature and third, the insights of a vast number of local and
international scientists and professionals. ... The book is unusually comprehensive
historically. It is also sociologically and politically impressively nuanced in its
analysis of a political economy with arguably the most difficult water resource
challengesintheworld.’
Tony Allan, School of Oriental and AfricanStudies, University of London
and Emeritus Professor of Geography, King’sCollege London
‘Allyouneedtoknowaboutthewaterproblemsofanear-waterlessMiddleEastern
country. A clear-eyed, helpful work by a wise man who obviously knows what is
wrong andwhatneeds to bedone about it.’
RogerOwen, A.J.MeyerProfessorof MiddleEast History,Harvard University
THE WATER CRISIS IN
Y E M E N
MANAGING EXTREME WATER SCARCITY
IN THE MIDDLE EAST
CHRISTOPHER WARD
Firstpublishedin2015byI.B.Tauris&CoLtd
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DistributedintheUnitedStatesandCanada
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Copyrightq2015ChristopherWard
TherightofChristopherWardtobeidentifiedastheauthorofthisworkhasbeen
assertedbyhiminaccordancewiththeCopyright,DesignsandPatentsAct1988.
Allrightsreserved.Exceptforbriefquotationsinareview,thisbook,oranypart
thereof,maynotbereproduced,storedinorintroducedintoaretrievalsystem,
ortransmitted,inanyformorbyanymeans,electronic,mechanical,photocopying,
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Anyomissionswillberectifiedinfutureeditions.
InternationalLibraryofHumanGeography:21
ISBN:9781780769202
eISBN:9780857738073
ePDF:9780857724403
AfullCIPrecordforthisbookisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary
AfullCIPrecordisavailablefromtheLibraryofCongress
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TypesetinGaramondThreebyOKSPrepressServices,Chennai,India
PrintedandboundbyCPIGroup(UK)Ltd,Croydon,CR04YY
For my wife Isabelle Ruth (Dr Isabelle Learmont), and my daughters Catriona
and Antonia, for their patience and faith in this apparently neverending
but at last completed endeavour.

CONTENTS
List of illustrations ix
Acknowledgements xviii
Preface xxi
Introduction xxiii
Part I Yemen and its Water Resources
1. Physical endowment 3
2. Historical, social and political background 13
3. Economic background and development 35
4. Water resources 42
5. Historical background to water management 59
Part II Uses and Misuses of Water in Yemen
6. Water and agriculture 77
7. Rural water supply and sanitation 131
8. Urban water supply and sanitation 178
Part III Managing Yemen’s Water Crisis
9. Water resources management 257
10. Water rules and water conflict in Yemen 307
11. Adapting to managing scarcity: community and public
sector roles 331
Part IV The Water Agenda for a New Era
12. Challenges and options 359
vii
THE WATER CRISIS IN YEMEN
Notes 381
Bibliography 409
Index 416
viii
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
Figures
I.1 Agriculturallands in the Yemeni highlands(Dhala).Photograph courtesy of
Helen Lackner. (xxix)
1.1Yemen’sold weatheredgeology,showingdrainagesystems andwind-eroded
rocks(JolplateauinHadramawt).PhotographcourtesyofMatthiasGrueninger.
(6)
1.2Averageannualrainfall,period1985through1991.‘TheWaterResourcesof
Yemen: A Summary and Digest of Available Information’, Report WRAY-35,
Sana’a, Republic of Yemen, March 1995. (8)
1.3 Climate zones of Yemen. ‘The Water Resources of Yemen: A Summary and
DigestofAvailableInformation’,ReportWRAY-35,Sana’a,RepublicofYemen,
March 1995. (9)
1.4 Topographic map of Yemen. ‘The Water Resources of Yemen: A Summary
and Digest of Available Information’, Report WRAY-35, Sana’a, Republic of
Yemen, March 1995. (11)
1.5Thehandofmanandwomanhascarvedaviableeconomyandapicturesque
countryside out of Yemen’s unpromising terrain (Al-Baraha village in the
highlands). Photograph courtesy of Helen Lackner. (12)
2.1 Self-confident and well-armed tribesmen attending a village wedding (near
Kuhlan, Hajjah Governorate). Photograph courtesy of Peer Gatter. (22)
2.2QatchewinginatraditionalsettingintheoldcityofSana’a.Notethehubble-
bubbles. Photograph courtesy of Peer Gatter. (29)
3.1Theriseinincomesfromthe1970sledtotherapidexpansionofcommercial
crops,includingthetraditionalYemenigrapevine(BaniHushaysh,nearSana’a).
Photograph courtesy of Peer Gatter. (38)
ix