Yemen has limited water resources. Hence, the protection of these resources from misuses and providing alternative resources have to be a high priority for the country’s national water strategy and to the international community. Water scarcity collides with rapid population growth and increasing water demand and scarcity in electricity. Over the years, the quantity and quality of drinking water in Yemen has continued to deteriorate endangering livelihoods and businesses in the country. The rapid shortages of water are attributed to many factors that need to be studied, among them are: • Growing qat (a tree that Yemenis chew its leaves for pleasure) • Water wastage through domestic, household and agriculture misuses • Lack of sanitation and re-use • The random use of high explosions in creating dams or new roads • Rapid population growth and • No other sources of water beside rain and groundwater. It is clear that the shortage of water (drinking and non-drinking) in Yemen, the misuse of its resources and the non-existence of urgent and immediate solutions will lead to an imminent disaster that will have a great effect not only on Yemen but on the whole region and the rest of the world if no major steps are taken to tackle these issues immediately. For example, the region might witness a major disaster in the form of mass immigrant/refugees in millions to neighbouring countries and the consequences on the region and the rest of the world in terms of crimes and the stability, especially if one realised that the supply of petrol from the Gulf States to the Western Countries pass through the Yemeni’s shores. Hence, countries in the region as well as around the world should be made aware of the severe consequence if urgent solutions for tackling this issue are ignored. Short-term and long term solutions are addressed.

Project Results

This project in collaboration with the relevant institutes and companies will study, analysis and implement some solutions that will tackle the water issues in Yemen both in the short and the long term. The primary fields of research are: Disaster mitigation, Water, Energy and Environment. Such solutions will require massive investment in: • Create awareness by highlighting the issue internally and externally • Coordinate all the activities of the stockholders in relation to this issue • Building dams • Re-structuring cities • Generate water desalination as well as providing efficient transportation and storing mechanism for clean water using renewable energy resources • Analysis all the technological methods (i.e., water harvesting technologies) used in generating water resources like roof water rain harvesting and producing safe water from the humidity in the air • Finding alternative sources of income for qat growers in order to erode the tree permanently The research expected to be carried out through this project will be in full alignment with the objectives stated in focus area which highlights the water issues and encourages an extended cooperation and collaboration between different nations to promote science and technology in areas that serve the humanity. The severe water shortages in Yemen and the different projects required to tackle this issue will be requiring heavy involvements of many national and international companies with the relevant expertise. The expected projects will also require massive knowledge and technological transfer that will be of great benefit to all the parties involved.