In 2008, water scarcity has remained Yemen’s most worrying environmental reality. Many areas in Yemen suffer a severe crisis in terms of drinking water supply, water for irrigating agricultural lands, and other vital needs. Most Yemenis have stopped drawing water from many wells, which have recently dried up.
[...] Experts have estimated that more than 60 percent of the water consumed in Yemen is used to irrigate qat crops.
While Yemen suffers from grave water shortages, specialists and officials keep on warning that the country’s water supply relies on limited groundwater. Only 125 cubic meters are available annually per capita, and the groundwater has been polluted and heavily overexploited for more than two decades, according to a German Technological Cooperation (GTZ) document.
[...] However, for the first time in its history, Yemen is making use of the ferro-cement technique to alleviate the water crisis [...]. The Minister of Water and Environment, Dr. Abdul-Rahman al-Eryani, launched two ferro-cement reservoirs to harvest rainwater in two schools in Sana’a on June 18, [2008].
Source: Thuria Ghaleb, Yemen Observer, 30 Dec 2008
