Desk Study Water availability Yemen
At present, Yemen depends for 90% on food imports to meet its food requirements to feed the population. As part of the comprehensive famine response, the UN aims to stimulate local agriculture and fisheries to reduce dependency on food imports, to increase jobs and income, and to reduce emergency food assistance.
Yemen is one of the most water-stressed countries in the world. It is estimated that local agriculture takes up 90% of Yemen’s current water consumption. From this perspective, it is clear that local agriculture and water availability go hand in hand and must be tackled simultaneously.
While the current conflict has markedly increased Yemen’s water scarcity, Yemen was one of the world’s most severely water-stressed countries even before the war. The average annual rainfall ranges from 500 to 800 mm in the high lands, 40 to 100 mm in the coastal areas and 50 mm in the desert areas. Yemen has no rivers; it depends on rainwater as well as underground water. The average person in the Middle East has 1,250 millimetres (mm) of water per year, yet the average person in Yemen has 140 mm of water per year. The World Bank estimates that the ground water table sinks by six metres per year.
It is reported that groundwater abstraction in the Sana’a basin is four times higher than its recharge, and if this trend continues, Sana’a may become the world's first capital to run out of water by 2023.
A study on all recent available reports on ground water use should map the current and future water resources in Yemen. The study will comprise the following:
- Inventory of available reports and studies on identified water sources, water availability, source development and production (volumes).
- Assessment of the current and planned (drinking) water infrastructure projects for the water supply in Yemen.
- Insights and indications of potential exploration and extraction volumes, including treatment, distribution and required (infrastructure) investments.
- Analysis of baseline and long-term forecasting studies of water demand in Yemen
- Provision of an overview of the current and future water availability.
- Presentation of the most relevant data and information in Geographic Information System (GIS)-generated and visually attractive maps of Yemen, showing location of existing water sources, planned development areas as well as potential surface water and groundwater sources, including indications of current and potential production volumes.
- Preliminary policy recommendations in relation to water governance that can be implemented under the current circumstances in Yemen.
- Recommendations for follow-up research and actions in relation to technical aspects such as improved recharge, monitoring, mapping, water harvesting and data and information gaps.

Project number
NL-KVK-27378529-UNDP21YE01Total budget
€ 27,872Countries
YemenProject status
FinalisedBudget spent
Tied status
UntiedContact
iati@rvo.nlProject partners
Acacia Water B.V., Netherlands Enterprise AgencySectors
Water resources conservation (including data collection)Type | Provider | Provider ref. | Receiver | Receiver ref. | Value (€) | Date | Value date |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Incoming Funds | 27,872.00 | 27-09-2021 | 27-09-2021 | ||||
Outgoing Commitment | Acacia Water B.V. | 27,872.00 | 27-09-2021 | 27-09-2021 | |||
Disbursement | Acacia Water B.V. | 27,872.00 | 24-12-2021 | 24-12-2021 |