Test Drive | Page 191

Chapter  10:  Findings     system.   In   all   the   cases,   women   do   not   have   any   specific   rights   when   it   comes   to   water.   On   the   contrary,   women   have   more   responsibilities.   Women   are   responsible   for   securing   water   for   home   and   drinking   use.   During  droughts  women  need  to  travel  long  distances  to  fetch  water,  sometimes  using  donkeys  and  most  of   the   time   carrying   water   containers   themselves.   Women   also   help   work   and   fertilize   the   land,   remove   grass,   pick  the  crops,  and  clear  the  land.   Farmers  have  very  little  knowledge  of  the  existence  of  official  water  authorities  and  the  Water  Law  that  govern   the  water  use.  Their  concern  is  with  the  diesel  fuel  cost  and  its  availability  in  the  market.  The  price  of  oil  will   likely  become  more  important  for  whoever  receives  the  water.   10.3.2    New  local  powerholders   The  relation  between  the  private  and  the  public   spheres  is  very  complex,  as  many  private  agents   “In   the   past   15-­‐20   years,   tribal   leaders   also   hold   public   offices   at   the   same   time.   This   bought   farms   in   valleys.   They   didn’t   complexity  is  exacerbated  by  the  pluriformity  of   comply   with   the   traditional   rules.   They   regulatory   and   legal   institutions   (i.e.,   state,   tribal,   customary,   and   religious).   All   in   all   only   did   it   with   power   and   weapons.   stakeholder   constellations   and   their   power   Our   problems   are   always   with   the   relations   in   Yemen   water   conflicts   are   highly   dynamic.   True   influence   in   developing   the   water   leaders.   Now   we   have   new   heads   that   systems  is  at  the  large  private  irrigation  farmers,   have  no  relations  with  the  tribes.”     who   control   the   lion's   share   of   the   available   Participant  consultation  meeting,  Amman,  2014   water  resources.       The   current   situation   creates   opportunities   for   individual   sheikhs   and   other   powerful   individuals   to   garner   wealth   through   claiming   new   land   and   water   resources   without   being   confronted   by   local   resistance.   Newcomers   are   seen   to   enter   the   areas   under   study   and   start   using,   diverting,   drilling   water   for   multiple   purposes,   which   in   turn   affects   earlier   local   -­‐   downstream   -­‐   communities.   People   feel   they   are   increasingly   oppressed  by  a  system  of  sheer  corruption  in  which  local  elites,  external  powerful  actors,  and  governmental   officers  are  the  winners  in  the  control  over  water  while  less  powerful  groups  are  left  with  no