Chapter
9:
Case
studies
in
Ta’izz
9.4
Case
8
-‐
Al-‐Horoor
Water
dispute,
Halhalah
Area,
Khadeer
District
9.4.1
Overview
of
the
conflict
This
is
a
water
dispute
caused
by
Qat,
where
Qat,
a
narcotic
leef
that
Yemenis
chew
everyday
and
that
consumes
a
lot
of
water.
Person
94
has
been
overconsuming
well
water
to
irrigate
qat
farms
that
are
outside
the
area.
Qassems
family,
who
live
in
the
same
community,
indicate
that
the
overconsumption
of
water
by
Person
94
has
left
their
wells
dry.
As
a
result,
they
have
insufficient
water
for
domestic
use
and
their
farms.
During
the
dispute,
Therefore,
they
started
drilling
two
wells:
one
higher
up
in
the
valley,
above
Person
94’s
well,
and
one
close
to
Person
94’s.
This
is
what
caused
the
dispute.
Person
94
won
five
court
cases
against
the
Qassems.
Another
farmer
believed
that
these
cases
were
won
by
Person
94
trough
bribes
and
because
of
connections
in
the
government.
He
also
had
the
advantage
of
being
a
lawyer
himself.
Person
94
also
filed
a
complaint
with
the
NWRA
in
Ta’izz.
The
NWRA
sent
an
enforcement
officer,
who
wrote
a
report
to
the
prosecutor.
This
resulted
in
another
court
case,
further
contributing
to
the
antagonism
between
the
conflicting
parties.
With
a
huge
distrust
in
the
court
system,
the
Qassems
resorted
to
NWRA
Sana’a
for
help.
The
NWRA
in
Sana’a
sent
an
engineer
who
studied
the
situation,
met
with
both
sides
and
wrote
a
report
on
the
problem
and
proposing
recommendations
to
solve
it.
They
also
wrote
a
letter
to
the
district
director
of
Khadeer
District.
It
concerned
a
request
that
he,
the
judiciary
and
the
security
authorities
in
the
district
would
consider
the
NWRA
recommendations
in
order
to
maintain
water
sustainability
and
promote
stability
in
the
area.
The
inconsistent
and
conflicting
approaches
of
the
two
NWRA
offices
to
address
the
dispute
highlight
the
lack
of
insitutionality
and
coordination
within
NWRA
itself.
Informal
mechanisms
to
resolve
the
conflict
are
very
weak
offering
no
alternative
for
solutions.
9.4.2
A:
Case
study
description
The
people
in
the
area
live
in
a
rural
community
of
a
few
thousand
residents,
with
vast
pieces
of
land
in
a
valley
that
is
surrounded
by
small
mountains.
Locals
mainly
rely
on
agriculture
for
their
income.
Qat
is
the
main
crop
produced
in
the
area.
There
is
around
900
akers
of
land
in
Halhalah,
and
according
to
a
report
of
NWRA,
about
90%
of
the
agriculture,
is
qat.
Locals
also
grow
corn
and
coffee,
mainly
for
local
consumption.
People
rely
on
ground
water
and