...

Yemen PM warns of depletion in water reserve

Arab World Materials 16 January 2011 02:31 (UTC +04:00)
Yemeni Prime Minister Ali Muhammad al-Mujawar on Saturday warned of a "catastrophic" depletion of water reserve of his country, state news agency Saba reported.
Yemen PM warns of depletion in water reserve

Yemeni Prime Minister Ali Muhammad al-Mujawar on Saturday warned of a "catastrophic" depletion of water reserve of his country, state news agency Saba reported.

"The more consumption of water, as the result of the high rate of population growth in Yemen, puts the country on the threshold of an awkward position, we have to resolve it without any tolerance," Mujawar said at the opening of the National Conference for Managing and Developing Water Resources in Yemen, Xinhua reported.

"The government is paying more attention to the issue of water, " he added.

Meanwhile, Yemeni Minister of Water and Environment Abdul Rahman al-Iryani said at the conference that there were 100,000 wells in Yemen and 40 percent of water was used to irrigate plant by farmers, which he described as "devastation."

"The levels of ground water drops by six meters each year," he said, considering the lack of modern technology on utilizing water resource over the past 40 years as a key factor behind such crisis.

"The only solution to our crisis is exerting efforts by everyone in this country," al-Iryani added.

Hussein al-Amri, head of Sanaa-based Sheba Center for Strategic Studies, said Yemen's per capita water amounts at less than 120 cubic meters per year, which is much lower than the global average of 7,500 cubic meters per year.

"As many as 14 reservoir in Yemen were at great danger to dry up," al-Amri said.

Latest

Latest