“Exposing the Invisible: Yemen’s Deepening Water Crisis”


March 2021

The Yemen Policy Center (YPC) is pleased to invite you to a virtual discussion,

“Exposing the Invisible: Yemen’s Deepening Water Crisis”
on March 22nd,
2021, from 17:00-18:00 CET 

(12:00-13:00 EST; 16:00-17:00 GMT)

On the occasion of World Water Day, the Yemen Policy Center hopes to draw critical attention to Yemen’s water crisis and the millions of the country’s inhabitants who lack access to clean water. Yemen has long suffered from chronic water scarcity, exacerbated by a rising population, increasing urbanization, and poor water management. Today, Yemen’s water crisis is widely recognized as an existential threat to the state and its 29+ million inhabitants. Over the years, Yemen’s water shortage has imperiled economic growth and food security across the country. A deadly combination of climate change and civil war has made the situation increasingly dire. At the moment, nearly 18 million Yemenis lack access to clean water, sanitation, or hygiene. Yemen is the source of the worst cholera outbreak in modern history; millions are afflicted with the disease, and millions more will continue to suffer in the event the country’s water crisis remains unaddressed.

Although it is unclear to what extent Yemen’s water scarcity has driven the current conflict, it is recognized as an important contributing factor to local conflict and instability. The strong link between water scarcity and increasing instability requires immediate attention from local, regional and international actors who are invested in peacebuilding in Yemen. Ultimately, while both technical and political solutions are needed to address the water crisis, the topic does not receive the attention it requires.

Join us for a virtual panel discussion on Yemen’s growing water crisis with: 

Moderator:

Adam Baron, a political advisor at the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue. Before that, Adam worked as a writer, consultant and political analyst focusing on the Middle East with an emphasis on Yemen and the Gulf. Previously a fellow in the International Security Program for the New America Foundation, Adam was also a visiting fellow at the European Council for Foreign Relations, where he published several pieces analyzing aspects of the current war in Yemen.

Panelists:

Maha Al-Salehi, a project and communication manager at the technical unit of the ‘Euro-Mediterranean Information System on know-how in the Water sector (SEMIDE)’. She is involved in the preparation and implementation of several research & innovation projects co-funded by the European Union tackling issues related to water, agriculture & climate change. She is also a lecturer at Skema Business School covering topics related to Environmental Policy and Sustainability.

Abdulwahab Almujahed, the head of the water and environment unit at the Social Fund for Development (SFD) in Yemen. Abdulwahab has more than 30 years of experience in WASH. Previously, he worked as a civil engineer and then as head of the quality control department at the National Water and Sewerage Authority. He contributed to all WASH-related guidelines and literatures issued by SFD, and also to a paper titled “Non-conventional Water Resources and How to Bring Them into the Fold.”

Helen Lackner, an associate researcher at the London Middle East Institute at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. Helen has worked as a consultant in social aspects of rural development in over thirty countries in the Middle East, Africa, Asia and Europe. She has spent the past four decades researching Yemen, working in the country for fifteen years. The editor of Journal of the British-Yemeni Society, she is also a regular contributor to Oxford Analytica’s briefs and OpenDemocracy. She has written about ‘Community-based Water Practices in Yemen’ (Ed. King/Oxford University Press) and has researched the nexus of ‘Global Warming, the Environmental Crisis and Social Justice in Yemen’.

Hadil Al-Mowafak, a research fellow at Yemen Policy Center, writing along the themes of security and peacebuilding in Yemen. Previously, Hadil joined Mwatana Organization as a researcher, investigating cases of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and other serious violations of international law. She continued her work on human rights as an intern with Human Rights Watch, and later as an intern with Responsible Sourcing Network. She recently graduated from Stanford University (’20) with a degree in Political Science.

Register for the event here.

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References :

[1]YPC nationwide representative survey, April–July 2019. Data cited in this paper is drawn from this survey unless otherwise indicated.

[2] UN News “Humanitarian crisis in Yemen remains the worst in the world, warns UN” Feb 2019. https://news.un.org/en/story/2019/02/1032811 (Accessed 3 March 2020).

[3] Wadhah Al-Awlaqi and Maged Al-Madhaji, Rethinking Yemen’s economy: Local governance in Yemen amid conflict and instability, July 2018. https://devchampions.org/files/Rethinking_Yemens_Economy_No2_En.pdf (Accessed 8 March 2020); Mansour Rageh, Amal Nasser, and Farea Al-Muslimi, “Yemen without a Functioning Central Bank: The Loss of Basic Economic Stabilization and Accelerating Famine,” Sana’a Center for Strategic Studies, November 2016. http://sanaacenter.org/publications/main-publications/55 (Accessed 23 May 2018).

[4]Data source: OCHA, “Humanitarian needs overview 2019: Yemen”, December 2018. https://yemen.un.org/sites/default/files/2019-08/2019_Yemen_HNO_FINAL.pdf (Accessed 11 March 2020).

[5] Final report of the Panel of Experts on Yemen, addressed to the President of the Security Council, January 2020. https://undocs.org/S/2020/70 (Accessed 11 March 2020).

[6] Mareike Transfeld, “Implementing Stockholm: The Status of Local Security Forces in al-Hodeidah,” YPC Policy Report, Yemen Polling Center, Policy Report, November 2019. http://www.yemenpolling.org/Projects-en/ICSP_EU_HodeidahReport2019November30.pdf (Accessed 16 February 2020).

[7] Mareike Transfeld and Shaima Bin Othman, “The State of the Police in Western Yemen”, YPC research debrief, Yemen Polling Center, Research Debrief, January 2020. https://www.yemenpolling.org/4325/ (Accessed 16 February 2020).

[8] Amnesty International, “Yemen: Fierce new offensive displaces tens of thousands of civilians from Hodeidah” May 2018. https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2018/05/yemen-fierce-new-offensive-displaces-tens-of-thousands-of-civilians-from-hodeidah/ (Accessed 5 March 2020).

[9] Maged Sultan, Mareike Transfeld and Kamal Muqbil, “Formalizing the Informal State and Non-State Security Providers in Government-Controlled Taiz City,” YPC Policy Report, Yemen Polling Center, July 2019. https://yemenpolling.org/advocacy/upfiles/ICSP_EU_FinalTaizReport2019July19.pdf (Accessed 16 February 2020).

[10] Nadwa al-Dawsari , “Tribal Governance And Stability In Yemen “, The Carnegie papers, Carnegie endowment (April 2012). https://carnegieendowment.org/files/yemen_tribal_governance.pdf (Accessed 5 March 2020).

[11]CIVIC, “We Did Not Know If We Would Die From Bullets Or Hunger” Civilian Harm and Local Protection Measures in Yemen “, Jan 2019, https://civiliansinconflict.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/YEMEN_BulletsorHunger_FINAL_PROOF.pdf (Accessed 5 March 2020).

[12] Fatima Saleh and Ahmed al-Sharjabi “Institutional Prerequisites for the STC “Coup” in Aden and Perspectives on the Jeddah Deal” , research debrief, Yemen Polling Center, Oct 2019. https://www.yemenpolling.org/institutional-prerequisites-for-the-stc-coup-in-aden-and-perspectives-on-the-jeddah-deal/ (Accessed 16 February 2020).

[13] Human Rights Watch, “Yemen: Riyadh Agreement Ignores Rights Abuses”, December 2019, https://www.hrw.org/news/2019/12/12/yemen-riyadh-agreement-ignores-rights-abuses Accessed 5 Mar 2020; Human Rights Watch,  “Yemen: UAE Backs Abusive Local Forces” June 2017.

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