Climate Change in the Context of Yemen

Climate Change in the Context of Yemen

Climate Change in the Context of Yemen:
Yemen is suffering from the earth resource degradation at about 12.5% of the total area amounts to about 45.5 million hectares. The desertification threatens about 97% of the land and eliminates arable lands at about 3-5% per annum, furthermore. Rather, the forests deteriorate and shrink at a rate of 1% per annum due to drought, agricultural activities, excessive pasture and logging. The biodiversity declines along with the reduction of the wild vegetation cover, noting that Yemen has the richest biodiversity in the region. Marine and coastal environment degrades because of the natural habitats decline and overfishing, which hinders fish spawning reproduction, and a variety of marine species. In addition, coral reefs and marine life are exposed to destruction caused by trawl nets, explosives, filling or bulldozing the natural beach line dredging, or ships pollution and oil tanker spills.

The air is exposed to carbon dioxide pollution due to the emissions of factories, power plants, transportation, and waste sanitation in the cities. Most studies indicate that the effects of climatic conditions changing in Yemen are expected to be significant and harmful due to water shortage aggravation and acid rains that impact agriculture and groundwater storage. The global warming and higher earth temperature phenomena contribute to the fluctuations in rainfall rate; rather, it falls in non-agricultural seasons.

The people who live in poverty will be hardest hit by climate change. The poor are more dependent on natural resources and have less of an ability to adapt to a changing climate. Diseases, declining crop yields and natural disasters are just a few of the impacts of climate change that could devastate Yemen’s most vulnerable communities.

Approach:
As the poorest and most water-insecure country in the Middle East and North African region, Yemen faces serious risks from climate change. More than half of Yemen’s population lives on incomes below the poverty line, and the mostly rural population continues to grow rapidly. Ongoing conflict and a lack of adequate environmental management policies (among other factors) position Yemen at a great disadvantage in facing future impacts of climate change. Hence, IYCY pays great attention to the issues of climate change, environmental and energy in Yemen

The program aims to spread awareness and building capacity of young Yemeni people in Climate change, Energy and Environment through a various of activities and implemented projects.

What we do in EECH program:
IYCY believes that young Yemeni people had a lot of energy, but still felt uninformed and uninvolved. Through the EECH Program, IYCY tries to help youth understand the environmental issues while utilizing their energy to work toward positive change.

In fact, the International Youth Council-Yemen has been paying intention to this since 2014, and has been integrating those kinds of relevant activities with its projects in different approaches as follows:

1. Capacity building for Yemeni Youth and Local authorities:
   IYCY has implemented series of training workshop for Yemeni Youth concerning a vocational training in Solar system as well as an introduction to Climate change policies, adaptation, mitigation, and environmental protection and Biodiversity conservation. In addition, training sessions was implemented to introduce to them about the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
2. Develop Solar Policy and Legislative Framework:
   Developing of appropriate national solar energy planning capacities which includes conducive policy and legislative frameworks are essential instruments to facilitate expansion of solar energy in Yemen. The solar policy will remove barriers that are preventing expansion of solar energy as well as extensive engagements of private sector. The policy will identify appropriate cost –effective instruments (i.e. economic, financial, fiscal policy instruments) to incentive of expansion of solar energy and extensive engagement of private sector in Yemen. It worth noting that signing of the official accession to the World.
3. Adapting to climate change, and Assess the gaps and needs:
   Our main focus area is on researches and studies, particularly in conducting climate risk and vulnerability analyses, also in identifying the priorities and implementing appropriate adaptation measures. We actually concern much in conducting field studies in order to assess the needs, gaps, as well as measuring the impact and change for the stakeholders. We also work on awareness sessions that help the community to understand the impact of Climate Change.
4. Promoting the solar energy to be wider used and utilized:
   We indeed work in developing the technical capacity of local actors and contributing to more enabling environment. It promotes the market introduction and grid connection of solar facilities, as well as the application of solar technologies for industrial processes. If entrepreneurs and the relevant politicians are more familiar with solar technologies, such as concentrated solar power/concentrated solar thermal and photovoltaics, and if they integrate those energy sources into the electricity grid, they will provide Yemen with a long-term option to diversify its energy mix.
5. Implementing and introducing solar energy as an effective tool in the field and measuring the impact:
   We do implement initiatives in introducing solar energy and renewable sources application in the facilities by supporting them and providing solar energy systems so that the use of these sources will definitely play a crucial role in making difference and fulfilling the change in term of using sustainable and save energy resources.
6. Environmental Awareness sessions:
   We do Environmental Awareness Sessions in various areas such as Air Pollution, Climate Change, Land Degradation, Hygiene promotion, planting trees, Biodiversity Conservation and Renewable Energy.

The Benefits:
IYCY has been actively involved in the field of climate change, several workshops have been conducted with policy makers, private sectors, NGOs and other stakeholders, number of guides have been developed, as well as various coordination activities have been taken place.

In term of researches and studies, more 6 field studies and multi-assessments have been conducted in 5 governorates, aimed at assessing and evaluating health sectors needs in regard of solar energy utilization, gaps and needs, priorities, and measuring the significance and the impact of these kids of alternative energy recourses.

IYCY has implemented, by supporting of UN-OCHA Yemen, several projects which successfully achieved occupying and supporting more than 15 hospitals and rural health centers by full solar energy system to enhance and supporting them to provide high quality services to people in more than 10 districts in two governorates.

In the area of climate change, IYCY can draw on numerous alliances and cooperation arrangements with renowned research facilities, other specialist institutions, and donors. Since we regularly participate in the international climate activities, we have direct contacts to developments and decisions at international level, which we translate into practice with the help of our innovative approaches.