Yet already the environment is over-stressed. In Yemen, once regarded as the garden of the Arabian peninsula, the introduction of diesel pumps over the last 30 years risks literally pumping the country dry. In the basin around Sana'a, for example, four times more water is pumped out than is recharged by streams and run-off. D.C. This kind of scenario is not restricted to Yemen. Let me share with you what some of them have to say about it.
Water is our life.
These voices of the poor offer poignant witness to their concerns and needs. In many parts of the world, access to water distinguishes the poor from the non-poor. When I was in Vietnam recently, some children told me that poor people were those without access to safe drinking water. Indeed, lack of access to water is synonymous with poverty throughout the developing world. Some countries have made progress.