Groundwater Security in Yemen: The Critical Role of Local Communities
Water-wise, Yemen is most commonly identified with scarce resources and arid landscapes. Less known are its longstanding, users-led groundwater management … Continued
The WaterBlog
Training, but then problem-based
by Jan Teun Visscher, Taha al-Washali, Osama Al-Jalaini, Belal Al-Shuja’a and Frank van Steenbergen It is not unusual for trainings consisting of experts presenting interesting topics to a mixed group of people, sharing the latest approach and insights. Quite often this is where it stays: even if highly relevant, the individual trainee may not be able to bring the classroom insights into the workflow of his/her organization. Particularly, in emergencies or challenging development contexts, such as Yemen, such training may not strike a chord with the work challenges of the trainees. Yet training can be done differently – and capacity building can be problem-based right from the beginning. This note presents an overview of the results and impact of a problem-based capacity building program for local institutions that was developed in Yemen in 2022 and implemented effectively in 2023 and 2024. The capacity building… Continued
Previous posts
Managing Groundwater Depletion: Pumping in the right mix of strategies
Groundwater depletion has been a major cause of concern worldwide, most recently as a contributor to rising sea levels. According … Continued
Small Farmers’ Productivity Key to Long-term Food Security in Horn of Africa
Even as you read this, more than 12 million people struggle to cope with the worst effects of the famine … Continued
Global Land Grab: The Ongoing Struggle (and a Lost Opportunity?)
Imagine one big foreign company owning half the arable land in a country. This almost happened a couple of years … Continued
Facing the Water-Crisis: ‘More Collective-Action’ or ‘Tapping Individual Vice’?
The 1977 UN Conference on Water, Mar del Plata, launched the era of collective action to address water-related issues. 33 … Continued