Foreign Policy takes a look at the situation in Yemen, where technological changes, outdated government regulations, and a lack of clear property rights have contributed to a rapid depletion of the country's water resources:
Ina 2010 report commissioned by the Yemeni government, analysts at U.S. consultancyMcKinsey forecast that if water use in the Sanaa basin was not controlled, thearea could completely run out of water by about 2020. […]
"The main reason is the uncontrolled use oftechnology, drilling wells, installing water pumps and not having any controlover the quantity being pumped out," he explains. "Yemeni farmers are, by theirculture, rain fed farmers . . . . The new technology madepeople think there was a sea under the ground. Pump as much as you can andthere will be no limit to the water."Thesituation is exacerbated by a lack of regulation and huge government fuelsubsidies, which make producing water using pumps relatively cheap, Schoenewaldsays. If the subsidies weren't in place, people would not be able to turn asmuch of a profit from irrigating crops, which accounts for 90 percent of allwater use in Yemen.
Steve Clowney