Chapter
10:
Findings
Chapter
10.
Findings
Water
governance
and
management
is
characterized
by
complexity
and
uncertainty.
Water
issues
are
complex
due
to
their
intricate
coupling
with
multiple
issues
within
the
natural
and
societal
domains.
For
example,
the
use
of
groundwater
resources
in
Yemen
is
strongly
interwoven
with
the
(lack
of)
available
surface
water,
fuel,
social
fabric
(e.g.,
ethnic
composition,
wealth,
education
level,
employment
rate,
and
existing
norms
and
values),
and
weak
governance
capacities.
Additionally,
water
management
must
take
into
account
issues
related
to
uncertainty,
nonlinearity
and
feedback.
Uncertainties
related
to
conflict
and/or
cooperation
over
shared
water
resources
are
of
a
diverse
nature.
It
may
entail
unpredictability
of
developments
(e.g.,
climatic,
demographic,
economic,
or
political),
incomplete
knowledge,
ambiguity
or
conflicting
views
on
the
seriousness
of
a
problem,
its
causes
and
potential
solutions.
Today,
uncertainties
related
to
water
resource
management
are
on
the
rise
since
the
pace
and
dimensions
of
changes
(e.g.,
climatic,
demographic)
are
accelerating
and
are
likely
to
do
so
even
more
in
the
future.
Water
scarcity
in
Yemen
is
a
security
threat.
Each
year
2,500
people
die
as
a
result
of
a
water-‐related
conflict,
according
to
unpublished
estimates.
Therefore,
prevention
and
adaptation
strategies
are
needed
for
the
local,
regional,
and
national
level
that
are
based
on
a
robust
understanding
of
the
various
sources
of
insecurity,
their
interdependency
and
cumulative
conflict
potential.
In
practice,
water-‐related
conflict
resolution
is
mostly
the
outcome
of
processes
of
negotiation,
mediation
and
conciliation
that
are
rooted
in
an
in-‐depth
understanding
of
the
social/cultural/economic
conditions
and
political
contexts.
Change
is
often
only
possible
by
means
of
constant
negotiation
and
renegotiation
between
the
many
stakeholders
at
different
levels.
10.1
About
the
research
The
conceptual
chapter
presented
an
analytical
framework
to
analyse
the
political
economy
and
the
conflict
dimensions
of
water
management
in
Yemen,
as
structural
guidance
for
the
field
research
and
subsequent
analysis.
The
key
components
in
this
framework,
based
upon
a
number
of
existing
f &