Power, politics and patronage

Population growth, poverty and property management problems are often advanced to explain resource degradation in North Yemen. But how do traditional political relations affect resource capture and allocation, particularly among peripheral groups not directly subject to state influence and which value autonomy and self-sufficiency? This paper investigates the socio-economic, political and legal contexts that determine water management among the tribal communities of the Sa'da basin in northern Yemen. Firstly, this paper considers how Islamic and customary law regulating the use of scarce surface water interact to define the relative power of actors over their respective environments. Secondly, it shows that the spatial distribution of irrigated agriculture is largely a function of political factors. Thirdly, it examines actors remarkable ability to resist all forms of control.