Description of the Field Area and Cisterns

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Description of the Field Area and Cisterns Rainwater harvesting cisterns and local water management; A qualitative geographical / socio-anthropological case study and ethnographic description from the districts of Hajja, Mabyan and Shiris, Governorate of Hajja, Yemen Eirik Hovden 2006 Master thesis in Water Resources and Coastal Management The Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences University of Bergen Contact information in case of comments or questions: Eirik Hovden Email: [email protected] [email protected] Telephone +47 93804702 Foreword If I could choose only one important thing to say to the readers of this thesis, it would be to raise a warning about the situation in the field area with a large part of the population living under extreme poverty and horrific living conditions. Acknowledgements I want first and foremost to express my sincere gratitude for the exceptional generosity of the Yemeni people. I hope Yemenis in Norway can be treated the same way. I would like to thank Statens Lånekasse1, BKK2 and the Centre for Environment and Resource Studies at the University of Bergen for financial support of the project. A wide range of informants in the field area have taken their time and effort to show me around and explain different aspects of the water issues. I will not list all names, but I wish to thank them all still hope those involved can be proud of their contribution. For practical help during fieldwork I would especially thank Matthias Leibbrand and Faris al-Aliyyi for letting me use their friends and contacts. Without these people and their networks the fieldwork could not have been done. Furthermore, −Hussayn Mathq¢al, ôAbd al-Qaw¢i H¢ajib and éAm¢in al- ôAbb¢as¢i for their everlasting hospitality and Y¢asir Mu−t¢iô for also assisting in field. In Sana’a I met with many people whose help has been very important: Gerhard Lichtentäler, Steven Caton and Frederic Pelat are anthropologists and development workers that have given advice, guidance and not at least inspiration during a sometimes lonely task. Through his numerous books, articles and some emails, Daniel Varisco has been a major source of inspiration throughout the study. I would also like to thank Dr. Taha Mohamed Taher, Dr. Fadhl Ali Al-Nozaily and Dr. Abdulla Noman and the Water and Environment Centre at Sana’a University. Several professors and students at University of Sana’a proved to be most helpful in finding information and contacts. The Yemen Centre for Studies and Research, represented by Dr. Khalid Al Surayhi, provided generously, within a very short time, a research permit. The American Institute for Yemeni Studies and The French Centre for Archaeology and Social Sciences should also be thanked for giving advice and letting me use their excellent libraries. 1 The Norwegian State Educational Loan Fund 2 BKK is a regional electricity company Thanks to Yemeni and foreign friends in Sana’a at the Yemen Language Centre for taking good care of me each time I came frustrated for a “holiday” from fieldwork. Thanks to friends and colleagues among students and staff affiliated with the master program for water resources and coastal management, especially my “cistern colleague” Sonya Jenssen and my two supervisors Frode Jacobsen and Øystein LaBianca. Thanks to Miriam, Michelle, and Thomas for correcting the manuscript and Torleif for being “computer-doctor”. And finally, thanks to my Mother and Father. Eirik Hovden Abstract The thesis provides a qualitative geographical/socio-anthropological case study and ethnographic description of rainwater harvesting cisterns and their role in local water management. The analysed data is presented in a generalised form regarding the situation in the districts of Hajja, Mabyan and Shiris, Governorate of Hajja, Republic of Yemen. Water quality and quantity are both of an inferior and problematic character. The thesis looks into some of the causes behind this situation by using a rational actor’s model to identify the main aspects of the eco-technical, social and cultural constraints that surround the actor as a framework regarding local water management. Different aspects of the water related local knowledge have also been focused on, in order to better understand the actor’s situation of choice. The field area has undergone significant changes during the last 35 years, but the traditional way of managing water is still very much present, despite or because of the changes. Table of contents Conventions and abbreviations ............................................................................................................................ PART 1 INTRODUCTION, THEORY AND METHOD ................................................ 1 1.1 Introduction..................................................................................................................................................... 1 Structure of the thesis......................................................................................................................................... 2 1.2 How to conceptualize and theorize “local water management”.................................................................. 4 Why theory of local water management?........................................................................................................... 4 Academia and the development sector ............................................................................................................... 6 Ontology of “water” and “management” ........................................................................................................... 6 Local knowledge in local water management .................................................................................................. 14 Different truths? Problematizing different types of data in interdisciplinary research..................................... 20 1.3 Research methods ......................................................................................................................................... 22 Finding a field .................................................................................................................................................. 22 Qualitative method ........................................................................................................................................... 23 Generalizability in qualitative methods:........................................................................................................... 23 Practical challenges.......................................................................................................................................... 25 The global world in Hajja: The “cartoon-episode” of February 2006.............................................................. 26 Interacting with locals as a source of understanding the “world view”............................................................ 26 Use of interpreter, research assistant................................................................................................................ 28 Group conversations......................................................................................................................................... 28 My perceived status; positioning oneself ......................................................................................................... 29 Breaking the ice................................................................................................................................................ 30 “Recording” data.............................................................................................................................................. 31 Informants outside the field area...................................................................................................................... 31 Literature review .............................................................................................................................................. 32 Tools in the field: The water landscape approach. ........................................................................................... 33 PART 2 DESCRIPTION OF THE FIELD AREA AND ECO-TECHNICAL POSSIBILITIES AND CONSTRAINTS .................................................................... 34 2.1 Geographical description and analysis of the field area ............................................................................ 34 The location of the field area............................................................................................................................ 35 Presence of fog................................................................................................................................................. 42 2.2 Types of water use in the field area ............................................................................................................. 44 Typology of water use in the field area............................................................................................................ 45 Traditional domestic water supply ................................................................................................................... 48 2.3 The cisterns; practicalities and use.............................................................................................................. 53 The collection of runoff by using collection canals.......................................................................................... 57 2.4 Typology of the
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