Reflections on an environmental study tripYemen needs to focus on sustainability [Archives:2004/784/Community]

By Stefan Ouma
For The Yemen Times
Between September 14th and October 12th a group of German geography students (University of Erlangen-Nuremberg) visited the Republic of Yemen under the guidance of Prof. Dr. Horst Kopp for a study trip.
Apart from natural, historic and socio-cultural facts, we dealt with a number of items and problems concerning the development of the country such as urban and rural development, agricultural and socio-economic aspects (e.g. poverty, tourism etc.) and the development and use of infrastructure (roads, electricity and water supply).
One term that must be inevitably linked to all of these sectors is the aspect of sustainability, which is a crucial necessity for a long-term and prosperous development of a country.
The term, originally being used in forestry, implies that people must treat their natural resources in a way that future generations can still benefit from those. Unfortunately this term is unknown to the great majority of Yemeni people.
There are a lot of problems in the country linked to this particular item. One, for example is the scarcity of water in many parts of Yemen that has increased through the use of motorised pumps, overuse and inefficient irrigation techniques and that has already reached a dangerous level in some regions as we could witness in Hadhramout or the basin of Sana`a.
However, one of the most striking sustainability projects the group witnessed was at Jebel Bura' Protected Area. This mountainous forest is the last of its kind in whole Yemen.
Whereas in other parts of the country, tree vegetation has been hurt due to intense cultivation and consumption, Jebel Bura has been preserved as a home to around 50 tree species – some of them endemic – and a diverse fauna including baboons, hyenas, varanes and even leopards.
The shocking fact is that a road is being built through this officially protected area, a road not necessarily needed, neither among tourist nor among residents living up in the mountains since another road is leading to those villages. Especially for tourists this is absolutely unattractive since the ultimate experience for people keen on Yemen would be to enter this natural forest on foot.
The effects of the road construction already are or will be devastating. Vegetation has been destroyed and water has been polluted by traces of dynamite that was used to cut off the rocks. Noise has expelled the animals.
The future effects could even be more devastating. The road may attract traffic, people collecting wood and vendors, which results in an immense garbage production like elsewhere in Yemen. In the long term the forest may not survive or at least loose a significant part of its original shape and biodiversity.
It is the now the duty and task of the authorities responsible – mainly the Ministry of Tourism and Culture and the Highway Authority to take action against this development. A better sense for planning and coordination must be there in order to avoid the destruction of natural heritage and a great potential for tourism.
Corresponding measures could be a great example for a starting point of sustainability in Yemen, a term, of course, that is difficult to explain to people who first of all try to survive. Nevertheless sustainable development will bear crops in the long run in Yemen, not only ecologically but also economically – and hopefully psychologically!
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