Yemen is running out of water. Much of Yemen's arable land is concentrated in the highland regions along the mountain plains, an area that receives a high amount of rainfall. Much of the country's population is concentrated in this area as well, which is one of the reasons that water is running out. Irrigated acreage increased by more than ten times between 1970 and 2005, and the use of groundwater in agriculture has become increasingly important. The agricultural sector is Yemen's main consumer of water, accounting for 90 percent of all withdrawals. However, though nearly half of the population works in agriculture, the sector contributes only around 10 percent of Sanaa's gross domestic product, and Yemen remains highly dependent on food imports to support its rapidly growing population.
As Yemen's population continues to grow, municipal demand for water will also increase. To satisfy this demand, additional resources will have to be taken from another sector's share. Meanwhile, water supplies will be lost because of dilapidated infrastructure and inefficient irrigation systems. As Yemen continues to struggle to manage a growing population amid ongoing political and social unrest, the economic impact of failing to address water management issues will become more evident. The U.N. Development Program estimates that roughly 1.5 percent of Yemen's GDP is lost to groundwater depletion and another 2.4 percent is lost by the country's failure to address water sanitation issues.
It would cost an estimated $12.7 billion to make the necessary improvements to alleviate Yemen's water problems. Updating infrastructure is among the most important measures the country could take to ensure the supply of water to the growing population. Because so much of the water supply comes from the ground, the government must improve its management and control over the number of wells drilled. This would be a monumental task, given that less than 10 percent of well drilling rigs are licensed and less than 2 percent of wells are registered. The sheer number of illegal wells and the weakness of central government authority currently make the management of groundwater resources impossible.
