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the International Development Association's projects in Yemen
September 8, 2009: The International Development Association (IDA) is the part of the World Bank that helps the world's poorest countries. Established in 1960, IDA aims to reduce poverty by providing interest-free credits and grants for programs that boost economic growth, reduce inequalities and improve people's living conditions. Here are some examples of how IDA funds groundwater related projects in Yemen.
Yemen
Yemen is one of the most water-scarce countries in the world. The country has about 120 cubic meters (m³) of renewable internal freshwater resources available per capita - just 2 percent of the global average. There is no perennial surface water and the country depends entirely on rainfall, groundwater and flash flooding. Market-led irrigation, which accounts for 90 percent of the total water use, is drawing groundwater at unsustainable levels. Those who can afford it resort to buying water from generally informal and unregulated private markets, mostly in urban areas.
an IDA result
- A US$4.4 billion, seven-year National Water Sector Strategy and Investment Plan (NWSSIP) was prepared in 2005 and updated in 2008 with support from IDA, Germany, DFID, and the Netherlands, paving the way for increased investment to attain the MDGs, more equitable water distribution and integrated management of groundwater, among other things.
Some IDA-supported activities during the last decade:
- Basin planning: Support to the National Water Resources Authority in establishing representative basin committees armed with accurate information on water balance and projections made by computer simulation basin models based on the meteorological and groundwater data collected by field staff. Sana'a Basin Water Management Project (US$24 million; 2003-2009)
- Improved water use efficiency: Groundwater and Soil Conservation Project (US$55 million; 2004-2011) and Irrigation Improvement project (US$21 million; 2000-2008)