Chapter
4:
Context
and
contextual
changes
Figure
4.11:
Estimated
trends
of
sanitation
coverage
in
Yemen
Source:
WHO/UNICEF,
2013
4.3
Physical
dimension
Water
scarcity
is
regarded
as
one
of
the
drivers
of
conflict;
an
increase
in
scarcity
will
result,
therefore,
in
an
increase
in
(potential)
conflict.
Biophysical
processes
affect
the
water
resources
as
changing
climatic
conditions
(rainfall/recharge)
will
positively
or
negatively
affect
the
available
water
resources.
Conflict
regarding
water
resources
within
agricultural
populations,
and
urban
residents,
and
between
different
uses
will
affect
institutions
and
policies
directed
at
water
resources
management.
It
is
likely
that
an
increase
in
(potential)
conflict
(resulting
from
an
increase
in
water
demand)
will
result
in
increasing
water
resource
flows
to
both
agriculture
and
urban
residents
to
reduce
conflicts
over
water.
In
this
way,
an
increase
in
(potential)
conflicts
will
negatively
affect
the
available
water
resources
(as
conflict
hypothetically
can
be
settled
by
increased
water
allocation),
this
can
be
aggravated
due
to
changing
climatic
and
biophysical
processes.
Increase
in
water
use
also
causes
higher
polluted
return
flows,
possibly
reducing
the
available
water
supply
for
downstream
users.
4.3.1
Climatic
characteristics
Water
scarcity
is
severe
in
Yemen.
Yemen
has
a
semi-‐arid
to
arid
climate
with
widely
varying
rainfall
across
different
regions,
as
shown
in
figure
4.12
(MetaMeta
Research
and
PAN
Yemen
Consult
2013).
In
addition
to
rainwater,
Yemen
also
relies
on
groundwater
and
(spate)
floods
for
its
water
supply.
Figure
4.13
shows
the
annual
temperature
and
rainfall
distribution
in
the
three
case
study
areas.
Coastal
areas
(such
as
Al
Hudaydah)
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