Political Ecology and the Role of Water: Environment, Society, and Economy in Northern Yemen

FROM THE PUBLISHER

How can we explain the over-exploitation and degradation of natural resources in the countries of the South? Population growth, poverty and problems associated with common property resource management have been common themes in this debate, yet insufficient attention has been paid to how traditional political relations and local perceptions affect natural resource capture and resource allocation. This is especially evident with respect to groups and communities at the political and geographical peripheries of state influence and control for whom self-identity is constructed around notions of autonomy and food self-sufficiency.

This informative book addresses this omission by discussing water resource allocation and management. It focuses in particular on the socio-economic and political contexts which influence approaches to and determine practices of water management. Taking the example of the tribal communities of the Sa'dah basin in the northern Yemen, it analyzes the politics of environmental change, with particular reference to groundwater resource degradation, within the conceptual framework of "political ecology".

Contents: Introduction
Sa'dah's politicized environment
Environment, society and economy in the Sa'dah basin
Factors and perceptions influencing expansion of irrigated agriculture
Social and political conditions and water use
Adjusting to water scarcity
Conclusions
Bibliography
Index.

Author Biography: Gerhard Lichtenth￯﾿ﾽler, Dr, formerly at Department of Geography, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, UK

SYNOPSIS