Dutch rescues Yemen’s H2O

The Embassy of the Kingdom of Netherlands announced the Dutch government’s decision to extend its financial support for the Water Sector in Yemen for the coming two years, stated a press release issued by the Dutch Embassy in Yemen last week.

The existing Dutch support for the General Authority for Rural Water Supply Projects (GARWSP) and for the National Water resources Authority (NWRA) will phase over in the new Water Sector Support Program (WSSP). A bilateral agreement to that effect was signed along with a Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of Yemen, the World Bank, KFW and GTZ.

A key objective of Dutch support remains to contribute to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goal 7. With the help of the ongoing Dutch support, GARWSP has been able to provide safe drinking water and sanitation services to 1.2 million people in rural areas. However, improving the delivery of drinking water is only sustainable when national and local government authorities, private stakeholders and water user associations join hands to reverse the alarming rate of depletion of water resources which is now prevalent in Yemen.

The government of the Netherlands is supporting implementation of the National Water Sector Strategy and Investment Program (NWSSIP), under which the Ministry of Water and Environment and the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation will jointly tackle the needs of better water resources management. The Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and MoLA are also key signatories to the program, said the statement.

Along with investments in delivery of rural and urban water to the people and in more effective irrigation methods, a major thrust of the WSSP will be on integrated planning of the use of water, from the community to the national level. The WSSP will promote effective enforcement of the Yemeni water law, to stop illegal drilling of boreholes and excessive use of groundwater.

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