Intersections | Winter 2015
Current Work | 13
Conflict Prevention
Education to End
Violent Water
Conflicts in Yemen
Yemen is one of the poorest countries in the Arab region and is
faced with political instability. As Yemenis are amongst those
populations with the lowest water availability per capita in the
world, an acute water crisis looms over the country. The scarcity
of this resource is an immediate threat to stability and human
security. According to unofficial estimates, 2,500 Yemenis die
as a result of water-related conflicts.
To tackle the root of this problem, The Hague Institute
published the report The political economy of water conflicts
in Yemen at a high level Roundtable in the capital Sana’a, in
November 2014. Commissioned by the Dutch Embassy in the
country, this publication was presented to a group of highlevel representatives from several Ministries, international
donors and other stakeholders.
Despite research and aid work in Yemen in recent years,
significant knowledge gaps remain, especially concerning
the use of national and local rules and procedures for
solving resource-related conflicts. To fill these gaps, the
team analyzed how water conflicts arise in specific cases. They
also studied which formal and traditional dispute resolution
mechanisms stakeholders resort to, including the effectiveness
of current practices, formal, and traditional rules.
The Dutch representation in Yemen will follow-up on the
policy relevant recommendations for the prevention and
resolution of water-related conflicts. As knowledge, or the
lack thereof, has an obvious role in the emergence and
resolution of conflict, one key recommendation is to increase
the knowledge exchange with the general public.