The Republic of Yemen, located southwest of the Arabian Peninsula, covers approximately 550,000km2. It is bordered in the north by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and in the east by the Sultanate of Oman. It also has a 2,250 km long coastline that overlooks the waters of both the Red Sea to the west and Gulf of Aden to the south. Around 83% of Yemen’s population lives in rural areas, where agriculture and fishing are their main sources of income.
Yemen’s topography is marked by its diversity. It is divided into five major regions: mountain heights and plateaus, coastal plains and deserts, as well as islands. The country’s topographical diversity has allowed it to have a wide range of natural environments and high levels of environmental biodiversity. Yemen has faced many environmental problems due to its population growth, urbanization, poverty, unemployment, weak implementation of environmental legislation, environmental awareness, desertification, pollution, and other factors.
Yemen is one of most impoverished countries in the world. It is a low income country with around 40% of the population living below the poverty level. A large proportion of the population lives just above the poverty line and is therefore vulnerable to economic or natural shocks. Yemen is plagued by many internal problems, including unemployment, corruption, water scarcity, food insecurity, and unemployment.
The environmental impact of conflict
Between 2004-2010, the Yemeni government was involved with six short periods of conflict in northern Saada, a governorate of Houthi militia. This conflict reopened in late 2014 and early 2015. In the meantime, Houthi rebels began to spread and slowly take over Sana’a, Yemen’s capital, and other governorates. This has resulted in the involvement of a Saudi coalition that has launched airstrikes on Houthi targets. A civil war has subsequently escalated throughout the country.
The Republic of Yemen has signed several international agreements relating to the protection of the environment, including the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. This prevents marine pollution and establishes a legal framework for all maritime activities. Successive governments have sought to be involved in international efforts to protect Yemen’s marine environment.
Yemen’s efforts to protect its environment had been slowing down before the war. This was due to a lack of public awareness, noncompliance by private and governmental industries with existing environmental laws, as well as the weakness of government monitoring. The undesirable effects of human activity and blurred visions caused by successive governments’ lack of commitment to an environment policy were further compounded.
Despite the existence law to protect the environment (e.g. Law No. 26 of 1995, on the Environment Protection; Law No. 26 of 1995 on the Environment Protection; Law No. 16 of 2004 On the Protection of Marine Environment from Pollution). The government was too weak for them to be implemented or enforced. The most important factor that affects the ability of the government to protect Yemen’s environment is financial support. Yemen is dependent on international organizations like the World Bank, UNDP and GEF for financial support to tackle environmental problems. The current civil conflict has worsened an already fragile environment and diverted international assistance from humanitarian issues to environmental. This has adversely impacted the environment and frozen all projects and efforts to protect it in Yemen.
The ability to enforce legislation during wartime is compromised by the absence of or insufficient functioning of the States institutions. War leads to the mobilization and use of most of the nation’s resources and workforce. All the resources and attention of the country are diverted to war instead of protecting the environment. This has resulted in a decline in the implementation of national environmental policy and strategic action plans. It also has an impact on the institution staff and financial incentives for people working in environmental protection.
FSO Safer – A disaster just waiting to happen
The Yemeni conflict is distracting attention from environmental pollution incidents that have already occurred or are likely in Yemeni territory. The FSO Safer Oil Tanker is the most significant pollution case affecting Yemen and its neighboring coastal communities (Saudi Arabian, Sudan, Eretria. Djibouti. Somalia, Egypt. Jordan. and Palestine). It is located 8km opposite Ras Isa, on the western coast of Yemen. It is 60km north of Al Hodeidah. Japan built the single-hull tanker in 1976 and it was used for 10 years under the name “Esso Japan” as an ultra-large crude carrier. The 3.1-million-barrel tanker was converted into a floating storage unit and offloading unit (FSO). FSO Safer was used for receiving approximately 100,000 barrels of crude oil daily in the Marib oil fields. Then, it was offloaded to export tankers. This tanker is located close to the most sensitive and important marine habitat in Yemen. These areas have many important characteristics, including coral reefs and mangroves as well as sandy shores and saltpan habitats. These include the 3.5 km2 mangrove dense forest north of Kamaran Island which was declared a natural conservation in 2009.
FSO Safer is home to approximately 1.1 million barrels crude oil. However, it has not been maintained since 2015, when the war began. FSO Safer’s owner and operator, Safer E&P Operation Company, (SEPOC), reduced its maintenance expenses in 2013, as it planned to build terrestrial storage tanks and dispose of the old 45-year-old tanker. FSO Safer is considered out of category since 2016. This is due to the inability to perform necessary maintenance and inspections.
An oil spillage could cause damage to the marine and coastal habitats. The oil leakage is estimated to be four-times greater than the Exxon Valdez accident oil spillage in Alaska in 1989. Oil slick is formed when oil is spilled from a tanker and spreads over the sea surface. The oil slick’s thickness and speed will depend on the sea temperature and its nature. Some of the oil slicks may evaporate, particularly the lighter fractions that have a low molecular count. Other parts will dissolve in the seawater or emulsify and disperse into the water column as droplets. The rest will reach shore and cause severe environmental problems.
The FSO’s environmental impact
The Yemeni coast is home to a variety habitats that support coastal communities. They are of great ecological and economic value. The massive oil spillage that is expected could result in a humanitarian and ecological disaster. It could affect the biodiversity of about 115 Red Sea Yemeni Islands, coral reefs and mangroves, sandy andmuddy beaches, fisheries and other land or marine habitats as well as hundreds and thousands of Yemeni coastal residents. The oil slicks floating on the surface will block oxygen exchange between air-water (an important factor in marine life), and also affect light penetration, which is critical for producers organisms that depend on primary productivity for photosynthesis. This will further impact the consumers who rely on these producers in the food chain. Oil slicks can reach the shores of the mainland and scattered Red Sea Islands, causing severe damage to coastal marine habitats such as mangroves or coral reefs.
Many organisms could be affected by oil pollution. Oil pollution could threaten approximately 3,441 species (millions upon millions) of Yemeni coastal organisms. Not to mention the many specimens found in neighboring countries’ coastal areas. Oil pollution could lead to the loss of 283 species phytoplankton, 139 zooplankton species, 300 species in coral reefs, 485 types of algae, 283 macroalgae species, 9 species seagrass, 21 halophytes species, 168 species and 625 species respectively of molluscs, 53 crustaceans species, 4 species endangered sea turtles, 969 varieties of fish and 102 seabird species.
Oil spillage has economic and social consequences
Yemen’s main sources of income and livelihood are the agricultural and fisheries industries. Both of these sectors are the most promising and provide employment opportunities and economic growth to poor communities. The Tihama western coastal plain, which is parallel to the Red Sea, is a national agricultural area. Alkharraz reported that over 3 million farmers in Tihama could be affected by the oil spillage, which may pollute their land. A large part of Yemen’s population relies on the fishing sector and could be economically and socially affected if the disaster happens. More than half of a million Yemenis are employed in the fisheries sector. There are 83,000 fishermen who are part of 135 fishing associations. The disaster could result in more than 18,500 fishermen and other workers from the fishing sector losing their jobs. Holm Akhdar, (Green Dream), estimates that 126,000 Yemeni fishermen and coastal communities would lose their jobs and source of income if the Yemeni Red Sea fish stocks are destroyed. This pollution disaster will also severely impact the tourism sector, resulting in thousands of job losses. This will result in increased unemployment, exacerbated food shortages, and the demise of coastal communities’ economic conditions.
The high price of treatment
Once a disaster has occurred, it takes time, money, and effort to stop the oil slicks from reaching coastal habitats. Then, it is necessary to treat and rebuild these habitats. Ships and aircraft could be used at sea to spray the chemical dispersants onto the oil slick in order to accelerate the natural process of emulsification. To avoid marine life being poisoned, it is important to use low-toxicity dispersants. This process is not able to handle heavy oil, nor large spillages that would require more ships or aircrafts. Floating oil could be contained by using floating booms. The oil can then be pumped out of any areas it has accumulated. Third is the use of “slick-lickers”, which are continuous belts covered with absorbent material that dip through the oil slick to extract the oil from the water. However, this method is not suitable to large amounts of oil. Safer E&P Operation Company, (SEPOC), had a chartered helicopter as well as two tugboats. These vessels were used to spray dispersants in the event of an oil pollution accident. All of these vessels were removed from the country after the war began. The chemical dispersants were also disposed off.
The government should immediately put in place emergency measures to avoid a catastrophe if oil reaches the shore. The oil’s toxic properties can cause harm to coastal organisms and even smother them. It is expensive to clean beaches to remove oil slicks. This requires many volunteers and specialists. The methods used to clean beaches depend on their nature (rocky, sandy, or murky). Physical removal of oil results in only partial cleaning and can leave behind large amounts of oil-contaminated debris. Many coastal habitats that support thousands of organisms will be destroyed if beaches are contaminated. Bioremediation techniques could also include oil-degrading bacteria.
It is expensive to treat oil spillages, whether at sea or at shore, and many countries, such as Yemen, can’t afford it, even when there are no wars. The war has taken most of the country’s financial resources, even those meant to be used to deal with any unpredicted accidents, to the bare minimum. Alkharraz Environmental Consulting Centre estimates that cleaning up and restoring coastal habitats damaged and their biodiversity could cost more than USD 51 billion. Alkharraz, who was the former Chairman for Environmental Protection Authority (EPA), said that the FSO Safer oil tanker was insured up to USD 100 billion to cover any future accidents. Yemen has not paid its insurance instalments since the war began, which means that the insurance amount that could be used to help with this disaster is now gone.
FSO Safer, and the surrounding endangered habitats, are located in an area of conflict between the two parties. In the event of an accident, it will be difficult to take emergency measures as no one will be risking their lives going to the contaminated areas. This is due to neither side allowing UN specialists to inspect the tanker and determine a better way to avoid any disaster. They also prevented access to an oil tanker from FSO Safer. Although both warring sides claim to have given the required permissions, there is still some dispute over who should get the money for the oil sold. Delays in reaching damaged sites could result in oil pollution spreading to neighboring countries. This would increase the risk of oil spillage into the waterways.
It is imperative to take all necessary steps to avoid any disasters that could be caused by the FSO Safer’s unmaintained condition. It is urgent to transfer the oil from the tanker to another tanker, and then to immediately maintain FSO Safer. The UN and other international organizations must exert pressure on all parties to the conflict to make sure they comply with the international and national efforts to avoid a disaster waiting.
Acknowledgement
I am very grateful to Dr Abdulqader Alkharraz who was the former Chairman of Environmental Protection Agency; Dr Abdulghani Gaghman, Senior Developer Geologist; and Dr Maryam Ther, DG of Planning and Statistics Ministry of Fish Wealth for their valuable information and support.
These views are the opinions of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the Arab Reform Initiative, its staff or its board.
