UN Warns Water Basins in Yemen Will be Depleted by 2030

A displaced Yemeni woman in Sanaa carries cans to fill water tanks (EPA)
A displaced Yemeni woman in Sanaa carries cans to fill water tanks (EPA)
TT

UN Warns Water Basins in Yemen Will be Depleted by 2030

A displaced Yemeni woman in Sanaa carries cans to fill water tanks (EPA)
A displaced Yemeni woman in Sanaa carries cans to fill water tanks (EPA)

The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has warned that the water basins will be depleted in Yemen by 2030.

It said that most conflicts revolve over water in Yemen, which remains the poorest in the world in terms of water resources.

In a report entitled “To leverage Water for Peace,” FAO said Yemen urgently needs to fully understand the water governance systems, how resources are extracted, used, shared and replenished.

“Our experience in Yemen has shown glaring gaps between policy and the ultimate use of the precious commodity. Another gap is limited funding to replicate best water management practices which have been piloted and proven effective,” the report said.

Also, Yemen is the poorest country in the world in terms of water resources.

The annual per capita share of water is a lowly 83 cubic meters compared to the absolute threshold of 500 cubic meters.

According to FAO, the agricultural sector accounts for about 90% of water use, most of it going to qat growing. It added that groundwater is being depleted at twice the rate it is being replenished and that groundwater resources are being used randomly.

“At the current extraction rate, by 2030, the water basins will be depleted,” the report warned, “This will be catastrophic for a country where 70% of the rural community practice agriculture.”

Also, the agri-food systems transformation agenda will be lost with the depletion of water resources in Yemen, it noted.

Climate change and rapid population growth have also put additional pressure on Yemen's limited water resources.

FAO said about 14.5 million people in Yemen are without access to safe drinking water and reliable sanitation facilities. “Women bear the brunt of this water situation which not only affect their crop and livestock production but entails more labor and time is used to travel to collect, store, and distribute water,” the report explained.

Community level water resources management

FAO said it is working with communities to rehabilitate water infrastructure and that close to 20,000 households have participated in its cash for work (CFW) programs activities since 2020.

It explained that CFW interventions serve a dual purpose. On one hand, they create income opportunities for participating households while on the other, they enable the restoration, rehabilitation, and establishment of communal assets such as water canals, weirs, and irrigation systems.

In addition, FAO supports Water User Associations (WUAs) to achieve optimal management of natural resources at the basin level.

WUAs consist of representatives from farmers, communities, and other stakeholders involved in water resource management and they use a participatory approach with women and the youth also participating.

Since 2020, 62 WUAs have been formed in Sanaa, Lahj, Hadramout, Wadi Hajar and Abyan, where WUAs play a vital role in shaping the composition and functions of regional and basin water management committees.

According to FAO, these WUAs facilitate decentralized water resources management and sustainable rural livelihoods at the sub-basin, and basin levels.

Aid Mechanisms

In addition, FAO said it is training community leaders in conflict resolution mechanism to help resolve any emerging tensions.

In this regard WUAs collect fees from users to fund maintenance and operation activities, they receive support and guidance from government agencies, especially the National Water Resources Authority (NWRA), as their operations are under the agency.

It added that WUA are an important instrument that has been used to promote peaceful coexistence and sharing of water resources.

FAO also acknowledged the crucial role women play in the practical day-to-day supply, management, and use of water. As such, the UN agency ensures that women actively participate in all phases of water management.

FAO said its focus is to give technical support in integrated water resources management (IWRM). “The goal is to develop sustainable water management strategies, policies, and investment plans that address water challenges in Yemen,” it said.

The agency said water harvesting technologies were improved, including rehabilitating and constructing new terraces, rehabilitation of on-farm water storage facilities for supplemental irrigation of existing terraces, on-farm water harvesting through underground cisterns and open wadi pits, wadi soil conservation and erosion control and rehabilitation of shallow wells and springs.



‘War Ruined Me’: Lebanon’s Farmers Mourn Lost Season

This photo shows burnt agricultural fields that were hit during Israeli shelling in the southern Lebanese area of Marjeyoun, on October 30, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. (AFP)
This photo shows burnt agricultural fields that were hit during Israeli shelling in the southern Lebanese area of Marjeyoun, on October 30, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. (AFP)
TT

‘War Ruined Me’: Lebanon’s Farmers Mourn Lost Season

This photo shows burnt agricultural fields that were hit during Israeli shelling in the southern Lebanese area of Marjeyoun, on October 30, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. (AFP)
This photo shows burnt agricultural fields that were hit during Israeli shelling in the southern Lebanese area of Marjeyoun, on October 30, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. (AFP)

Lebanese farmer Abu Taleb briefly returned to his orchard last month to salvage an avocado harvest but ran away empty handed as soon as Israeli air raids began.

"The war broke out just before the first harvest season," said Abu Taleb, displaced from the village of Tayr Debba near the southern city Tyre.

"When I went back in mid-October, it was deserted... it was scary," said the father of two, who is now sheltering in Tripoli more than 160 kilometers to the north and asked to be identified by a pseudonym because of security concerns.

Abu Taleb said his harvesting attempt was interrupted by an Israeli raid on the neighboring town of Markaba.

He was forced back to Tripoli without the avocados he usually exports every year.

Agricultural regions in Lebanon have been caught in the crossfire since hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah ramped up in October last year, a full-scale war breaking out on September 23.

The UN's agriculture agency, FAO, said more than 1,909 hectares of farmland in south Lebanon had been damaged or left unharvested between October last year and September 28.

The conflict has also displaced more than half a million people, including farmers who abandoned their crops just when they were ready to harvest.

Hani Saad had to abandon 120 hectares of farmland in the southern region of Nabatiyeh, which is rich in citrus and avocado plantations.

"If the ceasefire takes place within a month, I can save the harvest, otherwise, the whole season is ruined," said Saad who has been displaced to the coastal city of Jounieh, north of Beirut.

When an Israeli strike sparked a fire in one of Saad's orchards, he had to pay out of his own pocket for the fuel of the fire engine that extinguished the blaze.

His employees, meanwhile, have fled. Of 32 workers, 28 have left, mainly to neighboring Syria.

- 'Worst phase' -

Israeli strikes have put at least two land crossings with Syria out of service, blocking a key export route for produce and crops.

Airlines have suspended flights to Lebanon as insurance costs soar.

This has dealt a deadly blow to agricultural exports, most of which are destined for Gulf Arab states.

Fruit exporter Chadi Kaadan said exports to the Gulf have dropped by more than 50 percent.

The supply surplus in the local market has caused prices to plummet at home, he added.

"In the end, it is the farmer who loses," said Saad who used to earn $5,000 a day before the war started. Today, he barely manages $300.

While avocados can stay on the tree for months, they are starting to run out of water following Israeli strikes on irrigation channels, Saad said.

Citrus fruits and cherimoyas have already started to fall.

"The war has ruined me. I spend my time in front of the TV waiting for a ceasefire so I can return to my livelihood," Saad told AFP.

Gaby Hage, a resident of the Christian town of Rmeish, on the border with Israel, is one of the few farmers who decided to stay in south Lebanon.

He has only been able to harvest 100 of his 350 olive trees, which were left untended for a year because of cross-border strikes.

"I took advantage of a slight lull in the fighting to pick what I could," he told AFP.

Hage said agriculture was a lifeline for the inhabitants of his town, which has been cut off by the war.

Ibrahim Tarchichi, president of the farmers' union in the Bekaa Valley, which was hit hard by the strikes, believes that agriculture in Lebanon is going through the "worst phase" of its recent history.

"I have experienced four wars, it has never been this serious," he said.