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People struggling with drought on Socotra island

A map highlighting Socotra, a small group of Yemeni islands in the Indian Ocean close to the Horn of Africa. IRIN

Socotra, a small group of Yemeni islands in the Indian Ocean close to the Horn of Africa - and in broad bio-geographical terms closely linked with Africa - has been hit by a severe drought. It started about two months ago, causing a water shortage and the deaths of hundreds of animals, say government officials.

The last time the main island’s 45,000 inhabitants experienced serious drought was in 1999. Their livestock died in their thousands as grass and bushes withered in the sun in what at the time was the worst drought in living memory.

This time drought has spread to the western, eastern and middle parts of the island.

Ahmed al-Awadi, director-general of Hadibo, Socotra’s capital, told IRIN that people in the affected areas were living in miserable conditions and their livestock had been dying as a result of the drought.

According to al-Awadi, a tanker of water could cost 60,000 Yemeni riyals (about US$300), which Socotri people say they cannot afford. “Our capabilities are very weak. We need water tankers to bring water to the affected areas. The army has helped people get water in some areas,” al-Awadi said.

The head of the environmental protection authority (a government body) in Socotra, Salem Ali, told IRIN sheep and cattle had been dying because of lack of water and grazing areas. “There is no exact figure on the number of deaths of animals, but it could run into the hundreds,” he said.

The inhabitants of these areas were very poor and preoccupied with their animals on whom they depended for their living. Many had left their homes in search of better places for themselves and their animals, Ali said.

However, environmentalists say that if livestock are allowed to survive droughts through the provision of water and imported fodder, the present fragile equilibrium between vegetation, man and livestock will be destroyed very quickly.

Rainwater harvesting, storage

Southern and northern parts of the main island get water from cisterns in the valleys and a network of pipes. People in western and eastern parts of the island build ponds to collect rain water. While some of the ponds are six metres long, four metres wide and three metres deep, others are larger. Several families share a single pond.

“But water saved in ponds can dry up in a month. This year the ponds dried up by the beginning of July after the May rains,” Ali said.

Most of the ponds are not clean as they are not covered. “The water in these ponds can cause diseases such as diarrhoea because it contains parasites,” he said. Dysentery is common on the island and often essential drugs are not available.

Malaria is also widespread partly as a result of mosquitoes breeding in the ponds. Fresh water ponds have also formed because of leaking water pipes and this has also contributed to an increase of mosquitoes.

Sources of income

Socotra’s inhabitants depend on fishing, livestock and to some extent tourism as sources of income. The coastal area is inhabited by fishermen mostly of African origin while the `wadis’ (dried-up river valleys) and mountain regions are populated by people of Arab descent. Health services, education, access to sustainable livelihoods and clean water are weak.

The island has no agricultural crops because of the harsh climate, though small-scale production of fruit and vegetables, including dates, cow peas, finger millet and sweet potatoes, is possible.

Food, mostly wheat and flour, come from other parts of Yemen by air or sea, as a result of which prices are the highest in the country.

“The situation is horrifying. A sack of wheat can cost 8,000 Yemeni riyals ($40) while in other provinces it sells for 5,000 riyals ($25),” said al-Awadi, attributing this to the high cost of transporting food to the island.

maj/ar/cb


This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

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