Original version

BBC Radio 4 LW

Costing the Earth

Factual: Science & Nature: Nature & Environment

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

BBC Radio 4 FM

Costing the Earth: Waters of Arabia

Waters of Arabia

28/09/2011

BBC Radio 4 - Costing the Earth, Waters of Arabia

Will Yemen be the first nation to run out of water? Leana Hosea reports from Sana'a.

Arabic engineers once made Yemen a fertile oasis. Today it is in imminent danger of running out of water. Leana Hosea reports on efforts to avert a crisis.

Take a walk through the narrow streets of Sana'a, capital of Yemen and you'll come across the last remaining radish gardens. These small bursts of greenery amidst the desert dust are all that remain of a system that once fed and watered the city. At the height of Arabic science and ingenuity elaborate irrigation systems brought water into the mosques to wash the faithful. The used water was then diverted into large gardens of fabulous fertility.

Today Yemen is on the verge of a humanitarian crisis provoked largely by a chronic shortage of water. A fast expanding population coupled with a diversion of scarce water for the production of the narcotic drug, Khat has pushed the country's water supply to the limit. Reporter Leana Hosea has visited Yemen to find out if the wisdom of the Arabic engineers of the past can help bring water back to this parched nation.

Producer: Alasdair Cross.

BBC Radio 4

Intelligent speech, the most insightful journalism, the wittiest comedy, the most fascinating features and the most compelling drama and readings anywhere in UK radio.

Accessibility links

Programme Index

Costing the Earth

Waters of Arabia

Genres

Brand

BBC Radio 4 LW

About BBC Radio 4