B I O D I V E R S I T Y

F O R E S T S

C L I M A T E C H A N G E

D E S E R T I F I C A T I O N

Environment, NaturalResources and PovertyAlleviation for the People of Socotra Island

Yemen

C A PA C I T Y B U I L D I N G

D E C I S I O N S U P P O R TS Y S T E M

E N V I R O N M E N T A N D H E A LT H

E N V I R O N M E N TA LS U S TA I N A B I L I T Y

W AT E R R E S O U R C E S

W AT E R S H E DM A N A G E M E N T

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Background and rationaleUNESCO underlined the importanceof protecting the SocotraArchipelago through theestablishment of a Man andBiosphere (MAB) Reserve andplaced the island(s) at the top of theagenda for declaration (UNESCO,1994, 2000). The GlobalEnvironment Facility (GEF) and theUnited Nations DevelopmentProgramme (UNDP) assisted theGovernment of Yemen (GOY) in theformulation of a comprehensiveBiodiversity Conservation ZoningPlan, which represents theessential pre-condition for theinclusion of Socotra Archipelago inthe UNESCO programme. Theprocedure for MAB nomination isongoing and is expected to becompleted by the end of year 2002. The Government of Yemen ratifiedthe International Convention onBiodiversity in February 1996. In thesame year, the Government DecreeIV declared Socotra as a specialnatural area in urgent need ofprotection. The Decree also calledfor assistance to formulate aMaster Plan for Development of theSocotra Archipelago. In mid-1997,GEF agreed to fund a project calledthe “Conservation and SustainableUse of the Biodiversity of SocotraArchipelago,” that was jointly

managed by the GOY’s EnvironmentProtection Agency (EPA) and theUnited Nations Office for ProjectServices (UNOPS).The people of Socotra lived in asound balance with theirenvironment for centuries: due tolimited contact with the outsideworld, throughout its history thelocal population had to be virtuallyself-sufficient for all primaryneeds. Socotri people havetherefore developed strongtraditional rules to protect themarine and terrestrial naturalresources they rely upon. Thebiodiversity conservation efforts ofthe Government of Yemen and theinternational community have thusfound extremely “fertile ground” onthe island. The Government’sstrategy envisages theenvironmentally sound andsustainable development of SocotraArchipelago, in view of preserving

its global value for biodiversityconservation.The population of Socotra liveshowever in very poor conditions andhealth and sanitary conditions rankfirst among the sectors in need ofurgent intervention. Main problemsare: lack of transport facilities androad network and consequentdifficult access to central healthstructures; high incidence of water-borne diseases, including malariaand amoebiasis; low awareness ofthe negative impact ofenvironmental conditions on humanhealth; exponential growth ofanthropic impact on theenvironment due to economicdevelopment, including tourism;high rate of urbanisation withconsequent loss of control ongrazing animals and change oftraditional seasonal patterns ofrange-land use. Moreover, whenSocotra became object ofinternational interest, any objectiveand geo-referenced data on theisland carrying capacity and itslinks to climatic fluctuations andtrends, was completely lacking. Taking all this in consideration andunder the framework of its wider“Socotra Conservation andDevelopment Program”, the GoYrequested the Italian Cooperation todesign a project aimed at alleviatingthe poverty levels of the localpopulation. The intervention shouldfocus on the priority issues ofhealth and water management andshould work closely with the

Collecting the resin (blood) from a dragon tree

Socotra Archipelago

INDIAN OCEAN

SOCOTRA ARCHIPELAGO

YEMEN

UNDP/UNOPS GEF BiodiversityProject, to complement andcorroborate its achievements andlong-term biodiversity conservationobjectives. It was therefore agreedthat a system approach towardpoverty alleviation should bedeveloped, by integrating healthissues with the management ofecosystems and their naturalresources and services.The Environment, Water, Health andPoverty Alleviation for thePopulation of Socotra Island Projectis implemented in collaborationwith the Environment ProtectionAuthority (EPA) of the Ministry ofTourism and Environment and inpartnership with the Ministry ofHealth, Local Corporation for Waterand Sanitation. It is supported bythe Italian Government and byUNDP. Respective contributions are620,000 euros and 362,000 euros.The Government of Poland alsocontributed to the Project withtechnical assistance and in-kinddonations. Project execution isentrusted to UNOPS and UNDP,taking also advantage of theexisting complex communication,procurement and deliverymechanisms already establishedunder the UNDP-GEF project.

Goal, objectivesand expectedoutputsThe Project’s development goal is toalleviate poverty among thepopulation of Socotra Island in asustainable and environmentallyeffective manner. It fits within theframework of the wider SocotraConservation and DevelopmentProgramme, and it is closelyintegrated with the ongoing UNDP-EPA Socotra Biodiversity Project.The Project is structured in threemain components. The expected end-of-projectsituation is the following.

Health

f A network system established,which links the Rural HealthCentres with the capital townhospital and consolidates itscapacity to serve the periphery.The Rural Health Centresprovided with essentialequipment and necessarymaterials for Primary HealthCare activities.

f A strengthened administrativeand operational capacity of theexisting District Health Officeachieved through on-the-jobtraining of existing medicalstaff, including environment-health links.

f The professional skills of localmedical staff of the Rural HealthUnits (RHUs) strengthenedthrough the design andimplementation of a specifictraining programme, focusingon prevailing health problems,such as tuberculosis and

malaria control, and onpromoting RHUs collaborationwith EPA Extension Officers.

f Comprehensive and updatedinformation on the healthsituation of the island gatheredand organised into a databaseand associated GIS maps. This tobe the essential basis for furtherGoY and donor-assisted poverty-alleviation efforts on the island,linked with the other programmecomponents: biodiversity, waterresources, etc.

Watershed Management

f An objective watershed-basedstratification of the islandcarried out.

f An integrated watershedmanagement model for oneprimary pilot catchment,designed and implemented inclose consultation with localcommunities, to represent avisible example ofenvironmentally sounddevelopment and with a view tofuture replication across theisland.

f A number of Khareefs (smallimpoundments to collect flashrunoff) in the identified pilotarea(s) built on the basis of anecologically sound design andusing traditional constructiontechniques, aspossible/appropriate.

Extension and Awareness

f The professional capacity of thenetwork of EnvironmentalExtension Officers (EEOs)established by the UNDP-GEFproject further strengthened,through the provision of specifictraining on Primary Health Care

Top left:adenium tree

Top right:training on water-borne

diseases

Right:dragon tree on the

Dixam Plateau

and its links to water resourcesmanagement.

f A Socotra-specific Health, Waterand Conservation extensionpackage developed, with relevantaudio-visual material.

f EEOs trained in the use anddelivery of the above mentionedextension programme andpackage, as well as on itsintegration with biodiversity andother environment and developmentmanagement processes.

Implementationand resultsIn July 2001, the team started workingon three main objectives concerningthe health sector, water resourcemanagement and the delivery of theequipment and drugs acquired. TheProject is ongoing, and will last untilmid-2003. International staffcompleted their tasks in July 2002, andthe local team will continue to managethe Project.Activities in the health sector werecarried out as planned: premises wereupgraded, a network of health centreswas established all over the island,

drugs and equipment were supplied,mobile clinics were organised and out-reach health care service started,proposals for municipal solid wasteand medical waste management wereelaborated, support was given to theongoing Malaria Eradication andTuberculosis Control Programme, anda capacity-building programme wasdeveloped. The initial activities of theWatershed Management ModelDevelopment concerned setting up apilot network of ten stations for thecollection of meteorological data,which were then progressivelyprocessed and correlated with datafrom the water-table. Staff was trainedfor the collection of all necessary data.A set of thematic maps was producedto form the baseline study for allrelated projects implemented on theisland. A geo-referenced stratificationof the island was also prepared, basedon the preferences of inhabitants forwater use, catchment characteristicsand operational capacity. Further, atarget area for the design of anenvironmentally friendly andsustainable water management pilotsystem was identified, to the East of

the island in the Moomi region. Also,two khareefs were re-built in thewatersheds of the Upper Valley ofKlissan River in an effort to supportuse and storage of the occasional run-off. Finally, a small team was set-upand trained for the future managementof the environmental impact caused bythe population’s increasing waterneeds. The Integrated ExtensionPackage was also successfullyaccomplished: a programme was

developed, communication andtraining material was produced,including a video for environmentalawareness, and training was provided.In spite of its limited budget, theProject has a significant impact on thedevelopment theory and practice inSocotra, well beyond its financialvalue. In fact, it was successful inmainstreaming environmentalconcerns into health and watermanagement issues. In this context, asecond project phase is underformulation, which will aim at settingup a Decision Support System (DSS).This will be a planning/managementtool, which will provide its users with abetter knowledge and understandingof the effective economic andenvironmental consequences thedifferent planning/managementactions will have. The DSS will bebased upon a systemic approach,which will account for all the possibleimplications for the relevantecosystem(s) of a certainplanning/management action, andwhich will permit the integration of anenvironmental perspective into anydevelopment action, boosting itssustainability perspective. Finally, theexperience gained in theimplementation of the present Projectwill be one of the building blocks of aType II Partnership under elaborationby the Italian Cooperation, which willinvolve Socotra and the GalapagosArchipelago in Latin America.

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A typical khareef for the collection of rain water

Collection of meteorological data