Study: Desertification to Reach 86% in Yemen due to Climate Change

Yemeni researcher testing tomato plants in a greenhouse in Sanaa (Reuters)
Yemeni researcher testing tomato plants in a greenhouse in Sanaa (Reuters)
TT
20

Study: Desertification to Reach 86% in Yemen due to Climate Change

Yemeni researcher testing tomato plants in a greenhouse in Sanaa (Reuters)
Yemeni researcher testing tomato plants in a greenhouse in Sanaa (Reuters)

A study prepared by the Yemeni government and the UN warned of the impact of climate change during the next few decades, alerting that it would increase desertification to 86 percent of the country's total area.

The study reviewed the impact of climate change on Yemen and was prepared by the studies department of the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation.

It stated that the climate indicators and data recorded increased surface temperature in recent years due to the greenhouse gas effect.

Yemen ranked 20th among the countries that suffer from high water stress, which could increase the possibility of water poverty due to traditional irrigation systems, the qat farms that consume much water, climate change, and high emissions of greenhouse gases.

According to the study, desertification in Yemen comes in many forms and varying degrees and includes the deterioration of agricultural areas and pastures, uprooting cultivated trees, soil salinization, encroachment of dunes, and urban expansion.

It attributed the increased desertification to the scarcity of monsoon rains, droughts, and, more recently, erosion caused by flash floods.

It warned that this negatively affected vegetation cover, land productivity, shallow and groundwater, wildlife, and livestock breeding, which are primary sources of livelihood for the majority of the population.

Official data showed that the desertified land area in Yemen is about 405,000 square kilometers or 71.6 percent of the total area, and another 15.9 percent is in danger as well.

According to the study's authors, the misuse of agricultural lands, the depletion of groundwater reserves, climate changes, increased water scarcity, and frequent floods and storms have affected rural agricultural development and severely damaged agricultural resources, representing 80 percent of agricultural resources.

The rural population constitutes 74 percent of the total population of Yemen, thus increasing poverty and death rates due to malnutrition, the highest in the Arab region and the world.

The adverse effects appear more among vulnerable groups, including children, women, marginalized groups, the disabled, the elderly, and people with mental illnesses.

According to the study, the desert locust also affected about 4,609 acres of agricultural land, leading to agricultural losses estimated at $222 million.

The locusts destroyed vegetation, increased desertification, and ate crops, the primary source of livelihood, which exacerbated food insecurity, especially in dry and coastal areas.

The study indicated that Yemen suffers from high water stress in all regions, reaching 444.3 percent in the central highlands, and the extraction rate is 4.4 times higher than annual rates of replenishment, followed by Sanaa and Abyan, and then the northern highlands, while water stress reached 295 percent in Taiz governorate, which has the largest population



Amnesty International Says Israel and Aid System Use Starvation to Commit Gaza Genocide

Palestinians queue for a hot meal at a charity kitchen at the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip on May 4, 2025. (Photo by Eyad BABA / AFP)
Palestinians queue for a hot meal at a charity kitchen at the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip on May 4, 2025. (Photo by Eyad BABA / AFP)
TT
20

Amnesty International Says Israel and Aid System Use Starvation to Commit Gaza Genocide

Palestinians queue for a hot meal at a charity kitchen at the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip on May 4, 2025. (Photo by Eyad BABA / AFP)
Palestinians queue for a hot meal at a charity kitchen at the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip on May 4, 2025. (Photo by Eyad BABA / AFP)

Amnesty International issued a report Thursday claiming a controversial Israeli- and US-backed system to distribute aid in Gaza uses starvation tactics against Palestinians to continue to commit genocide in the Gaza Strip during Israel's war with Hamas.

The UK-based human rights group condemned Israel and the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which the US and Israel have backed to take over aid distribution in Gaza from a network led by the United Nations.

Israel’s foreign minister denounced the Amnesty report, saying the organization has “joined forces with Hamas and fully adopted all of its propaganda lies.”

Gaza’s Health Ministry says more than 500 Palestinians have been killed at or near GHF distribution centers over the past month. The centers are guarded by private security contractors and located near Israeli military positions. Palestinian officials and witnesses have accused Israeli forces of opening fire at crowds of people moving near the sites.

The Amnesty report said Israel has “turned aid-seeking into a booby trap for desperate starved Palestinians” through GHF's militarized hubs. The conditions have created "a deadly mix of hunger and disease pushing the population past breaking point.”

“This devastating daily loss of life as desperate Palestinians try to collect aid is the consequence of their deliberate targeting by Israeli forces and the foreseeable consequence of irresponsible and lethal methods of distribution,” said Agnès Callamard, Amnesty’s secretary general.

Israel rejects claims

The Israeli army says it has fired warning shots to control crowds and only fires at people it says are acting suspiciously.

The Foreign Ministry and COGAT, the Israeli defense body in charge of coordinating aid to Gaza, said Israel has facilitated the entry of over 3,000 aid trucks into the Gaza Strip since May 19 and GHF has delivered boxes of food with the equivalent of 56 million meals.

Humanitarian organizations say that amount is not nearly enough to meet overwhelming need in Gaza. GHF did not immediately return requests for comment.

The World Food Program says despite the new Israel-backed initiative, food consumption reached a critical low last month, with food diversity reaching its worst level since the conflict began.

“The continued closure of crossings, intensified violence since March, soaring food prices, and extremely limited humanitarian and commercial supplies have severely restricted access to even basic food items,” the WFP said in a June report.

GHF hubs are close to Israeli military positions

Amnesty’s report follows a statement earlier this week from more than 165 major international charities and non-governmental organizations calling for an immediate end to the foundation. They say the new mechanism allows Israel to use food as a weapon, violates humanitarian principles and is ineffective.

It’s the latest sign of trouble for the GHF, a secretive initiative headed by an evangelical leader who is a close ally of President Donald Trump. Last month, the US government pledged $30 million for the group to continue operation, the first known US donation to the group, whose other funding sources remain opaque.

GHF started distributing aid May 26 following a nearly three-month Israeli blockade that pushed Gaza’s population of more than 2 million to the brink of famine.

Palestinian witnesses have described scenes of chaos around the distribution sites, and two contractors in the operation have told The Associated Press that colleagues fired live ammunition and stun grenades toward crowds of people. Palestinians often must travel long distances to reach the sites.

In a statement Tuesday, GHF rejected criticism of its operations and claimed it has delivered more than 52 million meals to hungry Palestinians.

“Instead of bickering and throwing insults from the sidelines, we would welcome other humanitarian groups to join us and feed the people in Gaza,” GHF said.

GHF has called for Israel’s military to investigate the allegations from Gaza’s Health Ministry, but last month the organization said there has been no violence in or around its centers and its personnel have not opened fire.

Israel demanded the alternative plan because it accuses Hamas of siphoning off aid. The UN and aid groups deny there is significant diversion.

Amnesty's allegations of genocide Amnesty accused Israel last year of committing genocide in the Gaza Strip during its war with Hamas, saying it has sought to deliberately destroy Palestinians by mounting deadly attacks, demolishing vital infrastructure, and preventing the delivery of food, medicine and other aid.

Israel, which was founded in the aftermath of the Holocaust, has adamantly rejected genocide allegations against it as an antisemitic “blood libel.” It is challenging such allegations filed by South Africa at the International Court of Justice and has rejected the International Criminal Court’s accusations that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense minister committed war crimes in Gaza.