Yemen’s Future Conflicts Will Be over Water

Oct 14, 2022 | Niku Jafarnia
View Original

In just two days this August, heavy floods caused extensive devastation across Yemen, killing at least 38 people and destroying the shelters of thousands of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the city of Marib. Once a country that largely depended on agriculture, the percentage of the population that lives in rural Yemen has decreased from 91 percent to 61 percent between 1960 and 2020. As farming has become increasingly unviable, agrarian communities have migrated to cities in search of alternative livelihoods. Meanwhile, irrigation remains unregulated for those who remain in agriculture. 

The war between the Saudi-led coalition and Houthi armed group has also left critical water infrastructure damaged and destroyed.