Chapter
3:
Methodology
Chapter
3.
Methodology
Key
message:
Based
on
desktop
research,
in-‐depth
fieldwork,
stakeholder
consultation
and
extensive
expert
reviewing,
this
research
aims
to
thoroughly
answer
the
following
research
questions:
1)
What
is
the
interest
of
stakeholders
involved
in
the
emergence
of
water-‐related
conflicts?
2)
Which
conflict
solutions
(formal
and
traditional)
are
used
for
preventing
or
resolving
conflicts
in
land
and
water
management?
3)
Are
these
solutions
part
of
existing
practices
being
used
or
of
new
arrangements
being
established?
The
dynamics
of
water
usage-‐related
conflicts
in
Yemen
are
not
very
well
understood.
These
conflicts
are
embedded
in
a
particular
socio-‐economic,
political,
legal
and
physical
setting.
The
water
usage
impacts
on
aspects
of
food
security,
migration
and
the
general
security.
Therefore,
it
is
important
to
explore
these
dynamics
more
systematically.
This
will
allow
us
to
identify
the
specific
factors,
which
can
be
addressed
in
order
to
prevent
and
mitigate
water
related
conflicts.
The
study
includes:
•
Desk-‐top
research,
•
Field
research
in
three
different
hydro-‐geological
areas
on
water
usage-‐related
conflicts
and
the
underlying
water
management
arrangements,
and
•
Stakeholder
consultation.
The
analytical
framework
is
used
to
answer
the
key
questions
of
this
research:
1)
What
is
the
interest
of
stakeholders
involved
in
the
emergence
of
water-‐related
conflicts?
2)
Which
conflict
solutions
(formal
and
traditional)
are
used
for
preventing
or
resolving
conflicts
in
land
and
water
management?
and
3)
Are
these
solutions
part
of
existing
practices
being
used
or
of
new
arrangements
being
established?
3.1
Operationalizing
the
conceptual
framework:
Indicators
and
questions
Based
on
the
analytical
framework
developed
in
Chapter
2,
we
operationalize
the
identified
key
parameters
(context
and
contextual
changes,
stakeholder
dynamics,
legal
and
regulatory
framework)
through
the
questions
below.
These
questions
are
used
during
the
desktop
research
and
the
local
fieldwork,
thus
providing
guidance
in
obtaining
the
relevant
data.
3.1.1
A:
Context
and
contextual
changes
How
are
the
conflicts
embedded
in
the
local
physical,
socio-‐economic,
political
and
legal-‐institutional
structure,
which
lessens,
intensifies,
shapes
and
distributes
the
conflict:
• What
are
the
most
important
rules
and
mechanisms
with
regard
to
accessing/
allocating
surface
and
groundwater
for:
drinking
water
purposes,
agricultural
use
(cattle,
crops,
qat),
industry
and
water
for
tankering
(selling
of
water
to
cities)?
• Is
the
formal
legal
framework
conducive
to
conflict
prevention
and
solution?
• Do
women
or
other
vulnerable
groups
have
different
rights?
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