A Nation Chewing Itself to Death

Yemen's preoccupation with the leafy stimulant qat is having dire consequences. Credit: Cam McGrath/IPS.By Cam McGrathSANAA, Jan 31 2014 (IPS) The Yemeni capital of Sanaa is reputed to be over 2,500 years old, making it one of the oldest continually inhabited cities in the world. But it is living on borrowed time. Economists warn that if poverty trends continue, by 2030 more than half of the Sanaa’s projected four million inhabitants will be unable to afford their basic food needs. But before that happens, the city will run out of water. “Sanaa is using water much faster than nature can replace it,” says Noori Gamal, a hydrologist at the Ministry of Water and Environment. “The water table is dropping by up to six metres a year. By 2025, Sanaa could be the first capital in the world to run out of water.”"By 2025, Sanaa could be the first capital in the world to run out of water." -- Noori Gamal, a hydrologist at the Ministry of Water and Environment Yemen is an arid country, and Sanaa receives only 20 cm of precipitation per year. But climate is not the reason for the rapid depletion of groundwater stocks. The culprit is entirely man-made. An obsession with qat, a mild narcotic plant whose bitter-tasting leaves release a stimulant when chewed, is ravaging Yemen’s fragile economy and sucking up precious water. Thirty years ago, chewing qat leaves was an occasional pastime. Now it is an integral part of daily life in this poor Arab nation of 26 million, where 72 per...
Source: IPS Inter Press Service - Health - Category: Global & Universal Authors: Tags: Active Citizens Civil Society Development & Aid Editors' Choice Environment Featured Food & Agriculture Headlines Health Middle East & North Africa Regional Categories TerraViva United Nations Water & Sanitation Qat Yemen Source Type: news