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Water Scarcity in Yemen
By Dr Arvind Kumar
Yemen is confronted with an increasingly violent secessionist movement in the south, a recurring insurgency in the north, and regular attacks against the government by the local Al-Qaeda affiliate. While these crises hog headlines and attract the attention of Western policymakers, social conflict over scarce resources may represent a more subtle long-term threat to the country. According to Yemen’s Ministry of Interior, much of social violence takes place in rural areas where the central government holds little sway, and claims the lives of over 4,000 people per year. Yemen’s lack of water is potentially the most crippling crisis facing the country. Annual water availability per person is just 2 percent of the global average, and Sanaa is expected to be the first capital city in the world to run out of water.
According to Gerhard Lichtenthaeler, a consultant with the German Technical Corporation (GTZ), the root of modern conflict over water resources can be traced back to the 1970s. Water disputes at that time were over surface water, but Yemenis solved conflicts then with the help of tube-well technology, and began digging wells in Yemen. After three decades, underground water resources have depleted at faster pace and water scarcity is haunting the people of Yemen and entails the potential of conflict.
Whether water scarcity are the source of conflict, or simply a spark set to underlying grievances such as revenge issues and political disaffection, remains an open question.
