Shepherd in the Desert, Yemen
Livestock are a primary source of income for small-scale Yemeni farmers, particularly sheep, goats, cattle, camels and poultry. But a lack of water, fodder, veterinary services and the prevalence of pests and diseases, have hindered livestock production.
Water is a finite resource that requires urgent attention: with groundwater resources rapidly depleting, Yemen's greatest environmental challenge is water scarcity. Yemen already has one of the lowest rates of per capita water availability in the world, estimated at about two per cent of the world average. Due to the rapid depletion of groundwater resources, the water table is falling by about two meters per year, constraining agricultural production and causing chronic water shortages. Periodic droughts and desertification, coupled with a shift from food production to cultivation of cash crops, are also impacting agriculture.
About 90 per cent of Yemen is classed as arid, semi-arid and desert. In the east, the Rub al Khali, or 'Empty Quarter', is one of the largest sand deserts in the world, and receives almost no rain. It is inhabited by nomadic Bedouin pastoralists, who rely on trading of camels and goats. The Tihama coastal plain consists of sand plains and dunes, interrupted by wadi flood plains which are exploited for cultivation. In the western highlands, which receive the highest levels of rainfall, traditional terrace cultivation dominates the landscape.
Water scarcity is Yemen's main constraint to food production. Almost 90 per cent of water use is for agriculture, and a large proportion of this is due to inefficient irrigation techniques and the expansion of qat cultivation, which alone accounts for 30 per cent of water use. Six times more profitable than most food crops, and relatively easy to cultivate, qat cultivation has expanded at the expense of food crops, contributing to the dependence on food imports. At the same time, the mildly narcotic leaves account for up to 30 per cent of household expenditure, ranking second only to food for many poor people.
Water is being extracted from the Sana'a basin four times quicker than it is being replenished and, with a population growth rate of seven per cent, Sana'a could become the first capital city to run out of water.
Shepherd in the Desert, Yemen
Livestock are a primary source of income for small-scale Yemeni farmers, particularly sheep, goats, cattle, camels and poultry. But a lack of water, fodder, veterinary services and the prevalence of pests and diseases, have hindered livestock production.
Water is a finite resource that requires urgent attention: with groundwater resources rapidly depleting, Yemen's greatest environmental challenge is water scarcity. Yemen already has one of the lowest rates of per capita water availability in the world, estimated at about two per cent of the world average. Due to the rapid depletion of groundwater resources, the water table is falling by about two meters per year, constraining agricultural production and causing chronic water shortages. Periodic droughts and desertification, coupled with a shift from food production to cultivation of cash crops, are also impacting agriculture.
About 90 per cent of Yemen is classed as arid, semi-arid and desert. In the east, the Rub al Khali, or 'Empty Quarter', is one of the largest sand deserts in the world, and receives almost no rain. It is inhabited by nomadic Bedouin pastoralists, who rely on trading of camels and goats. The Tihama coastal plain consists of sand plains and dunes, interrupted by wadi flood plains which are exploited for cultivation. In the western highlands, which receive the highest levels of rainfall, traditional terrace cultivation dominates the landscape.
Water scarcity is Yemen's main constraint to food production. Almost 90 per cent of water use is for agriculture, and a large proportion of this is due to inefficient irrigation techniques and the expansion of qat cultivation, which alone accounts for 30 per cent of water use. Six times more profitable than most food crops, and relatively easy to cultivate, qat cultivation has expanded at the expense of food crops, contributing to the dependence on food imports. At the same time, the mildly narcotic leaves account for up to 30 per cent of household expenditure, ranking second only to food for many poor people.
Water is being extracted from the Sana'a basin four times quicker than it is being replenished and, with a population growth rate of seven per cent, Sana'a could become the first capital city to run out of water.