WB grants Yemen $15 mln for GSCP

WASHINGTON, Sep. 11 (Saba)- The World Bank's Board of Executive
Directors approved on Thursday granting Yemen $ 15 million for
Groundwater and Soil Conservation Project (GSCP).

In a press release, the WB said that this additional financing would
be devoted to support the project's efforts to conserve water in
farming areas, especially groundwater, improve recharge and protect
watersheds.

The WB pointed out that the grant would "improve water use
efficiency and increase farmer returns to water, creating the
conditions that would allow farmers to reduce pumping of groundwater
from aquifers towards sustainable levels".

"Increasing surface and groundwater availability through watershed
management and groundwater recharge by supporting the rehabilitation
of small to medium spate irrigation schemes, bank protection works,
water harvesting structures, and the rehabilitation of terraces and
other soil and water conservation investments" added the WB.

"Supporting a groundwater management framework based on improved
incentive and capacity to manage local water resources in a
sustainable manner".

According the WB's report on practicing activities for 2009, Yemen
has been ranked among the top countries in terms of carrying out the
biggest number of reforms in starting business and trade reforms.

The report showed that Yemen has ranked the 98 world rank in field
of starting trade and service activities, jumping into 25 ranks than
of the current year in which the country was numbered 123.

The report that included 187 countries showed that Yemen has reduced
number of measures of starting trade and service activities from 12
to 7 measures, days from 63 to only 13, cost of starting activities
from 269 percent of the GDP to 93 and reduced requirements of the
capital requirements to the minimum from 1561 percent of GDP to
zero.