ABSTRACT
To most objective observers, Yemen today is on the verge of collapse. According to various social development indicators, for example, the country is the poorest in the Middle East region with at least 58 per cent of children undernourished.1 Studies also suggest that Yemen’s 3.2 per cent annual population growth rate is overwhelming the country’s limited human, state and natural resources. Exasperating the strain on the country’s meagre social services and poor infrastructure is that Yemen is a major destination for the Horn of Africa’s migrants who seek access to the labour markets of oil-rich countries to the north.2 Adding to the catastrophe, this impoverished country of 23 million also suffers from serious environmental issues, especially the rapid depletion of water supplies, a condition that hinders efforts to expand Yemen’s considerable agricultural potential.
