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The nation of To whom has been n the news a great deal lately as the source of suspected Al Qaeda bombs aboard aircraft. But besides becoming ostracized by Western countries for its support of terrorists, this little nation on the Arabian Peninsula has other issues, according to a report published in September 2010 by the Science and Development Network, as non-profit information and facts service.

The report was made by McKinsey & Company, the large international management consulting firm, which lends the report immediate credibility. The study of water availability in Yemen was part of a larger project that was commissioned by the Yemeni government with the goal of identifying ten governmental priorities for the next decade. A preliminary draft of the report was released September 24th. As outlined by the report, the capital city of Yemen, Sana'a, is projected to completely deplete its water supply by the year 2025.

The reason for the impending water disaster in Yemen is a combination of poor water management practices by the nation which are exacerbated by an almost complete dependence of the use of fresh water to assistance farming.

The nation of Yemen has no rivers-none. This means that fresh water comes entirely from ground water and rainfall. Agriculture, always difficult in an arid environment, uses 90% of Yemen's available fresh water supply. Even worse, the farming that consumes the most water is a plant called Khat, which produces leaves that are chewed or used to brew a tea. The attraction of khat is that its leaves contain a stimulant drug substance called cathinone, a compound which is illegal in the USA and listed under the Controlled Substances Act but widely available in News Yemen now. Chewing khat produces an effect similar to that derived from cocaine. Khat is cultivated widely because it is a higher earning crop than food crops such as wheat. It also earns about five times as much as fruit.

The cultivation of khat alone consumes twice the amount of water consumed by all Yemeni residents combined. To assistance its production, random water wells have been drilled all over the compact Arab kingdom to irrigate khat fields, leading to difficulties in managing the water supply of the nation.

The result is that Sana'a will be the first city in the world to run out of water. Since Sana'a is about 150 miles form the ocean, it is not clear whether desalination plants could help the nation solve its water supply troubles. A report by the Yemeni government is due out soon detailing its plans to address the impending water shortage and other challenges.