Abdul Hamid assumed the Caliphate after the deposition of his brother, Prince Rashad who was called, Muhammad V. He was forty six years old and the Ottoman throne and Empire were dying, but the state was consistent to some extent. The Sultan submitted to the members of the Union Party, who sought to settle the power in their grip, but their expectations were not met. They faced a stiff opposition from public opinion calling for the support of the rights of succession and amending the Constitution to achieve this goal.

When the World War I started in 1914 (1333 Hijri), the government of the Union and Progress took the side of Germany. Turkey entered a war beyond its control and aborted its human, economic and military powers, where Turkish army was the ruptured at all borders and frontiers as a result of failed leadership. The war ended in 1918 (1337 Hijri) with the defeat of Germany and Turkey and the succeeded state was destroyed and cut apart, as the British captured the fort Aldrndel. The French and English armies, occupied the city of Istanbul and Greece occupied Izmir and signed “Medroz” truce which provided for the surrender of the Ottoman Empire without restrictions or conditions. The Ottoman forces began to lay down their arms and the Allies got prepared to occupy Istanbul and other Turkish cities. The spirit of revenge made by the Allies and religious minorities led to the growth of the resistance spirit of the Turks.

As for the senior men of Union and Progress Party, whom had the capabilities of the country in their hands, they have fled the country. The new Ottoman Sultan Muhammad Waheed Al Dein was aware that Turkey’s presence is necessary for the West to balance them, and that Britain and France would not allow the total elimination of Turkey because this paves the way for the communist Russia to take over Anatolia, and consequently over Bosphorus Strait Aldrndel. All what they wanted was to make the Ottoman Empire a small country like the states that will be on its ruins. Therefore, the Sultan believed that what was taken from the Ottoman Empire by force cannot be restored except by fight, and there must be a revolution in the country. Thus he retained Mustafa Kamal, and entrusted him with a revolution in eastern Anatolia in order to allow politicians to use the leverage this revolution as leverage during the decade of peace with the Allies in order to obtain as much as possible of the gain. To cover up this revolution, especially from the British who were in control of Istanbul, Sultan Waheed appointed Mustafa Kamel inspector of the armies of Anatolia and gave him wide powers, gave him a large sum of money and place confidence in him, but he betrayed the Sultan and worked for himself.

According to several archeological and historical evidences, Yemen is the first country in the world where spate irrigation was practiced. This unique system witnessed its zenith during the Shebean period in the first millennium BC. The intense development of trade after the Islamic period may have promoted the spread of spate irrigation from Yemen to other arid and semi-arid regions. By the late 1990s, use of Yemen’s water resources was deemed to be unsustainable, due not only to the overexploitation of the non-renewable groundwater resources but also to the neglect of traditional irrigation systems fed by the (relatively renewable) spate waters. To help address this issue, the Government of Yemen (GOY) through the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation (MAI) undertook to prepare an Irrigation Improvement Project (IIP) and to implement it with assistance from the International Development Association (IDA) under an Adaptable Program Lending (APL) credit. The project was planned to be prepared and implemented in two phases, namely (i) Phase I, covering schemes in two wadis (Zabid in Hodeidah governorate and Tuban in Lahej governorate) with a total command area of about 26,000 ha, and (ii) Phase II, covering schemes in five other main wadis (Bana, Hassan, Mawr, Rima’a and Siham) with a total command area of about 64,000 ha, and/or smaller schemes in other wadis (Hijr, Ahwar, Meifa’a, Surdud, Harad and Raysan) that would meet the selection criteria.

IIP Phase I preparation studies were themselves undertaken in two phases. Phase 1 comprised an inventory survey, characterization and preliminary study of spate irrigation schemes in five wadis (Mawr, Zabid, Tuban, Bana and Hassan). Through a ranking analysis, two of these wadi schemes (Tuban and Zabid) were selected for more detailed study in Phase II. The rationale was that the two selected schemes would provide the best opportunity to serve as models or pilots for developing and demonstrating the participatory irrigation management (PIM) approach to decentralization and transfer of irrigation scheme management responsibilities to appropriate local institutions. To execute the preparation studies for the selected Wadi Zabid and Wadi Tuban schemes, a Project Preparation Unit (PPU) was formed within the MAI. National and international consultants were engaged by the PPU to undertake the studies in Yemen. A Japanese grant managed through the World Bank provided the principal funding for project preparation. GOY, the World Bank, IFAD and FAO/IC contributed additional funding and/or resources.

Following on from project preparation, the IIP Phase I Project Appraisal Document (PAD) was finalized and issued on August 9, 2000. Financing of the total project cost of US$25.60 million was planned to be provided by: (i) an IDA credit of SDR 16.2 million (US$21.3 million equivalent, 83.2%); (ii) direct contributions from beneficiaries totaling US$1.2 million (4.7%), and (iii) GOY contributions from its own resources amounting to US$3.10 million (12.1%). The project implementation period was planned to be 5 years.

Government-level institutional arrangements for project implementation, as envisaged at appraisal, included: (i) the MAI as the agency to assume overall authority and responsibility on behalf of the GOY, (ii) a Steering Committee (SC) to oversee implementation, comprising the Minister of the MAI as chairman and five further key persons including the project director; (iii) a central Project Management Unit (PMU) in Sana’a for coordination and general supervision, led by the project director and staffed by technical, procurement, financial, administrative and monitoring and evaluation (M&E) personnel; and (iv) two Project Implementation Units (PIUs), one in Zabid and one in Tuban, for supervising implementation activities at the project sites, each staffed by a director, an engineer, an agriculturalist, an institutional specialist and an accountant. The PIUs were to work closely with the relevant regional agencies, the Tihama Development Authority (TDA) in Wadi Zabid and the Lahej Regional Agricultural Office (RAO) in Wadi Tuban.

The project commencement date was January 1, 2001 and the credit effectiveness date was January 18, 2001. Earlier, in July 2000, the PMU in Sana’a was established with a director and staff including specialists (civil servants or consultants) in the fields of irrigation, agronomy, institutional development, publicity, procurement, financial management and M&E. PIUs in Zabid and Tuban were formed at the same time. The PMU and PIUs remained fully operational during the execution of the project. Also, in July 2000, the SC was established under the chairmanship of the Minister of the MAI and included the Deputy Minister of the MAI, the Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation (MOPIC), the Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Finance (MOF), the Director General of the General Directorate of Irrigation (GDI), the Director General of Planning & Monitoring MAI, and the PMU director member/secretary. Project implementation was eventually carried out over a total period of 8 years with essentially no change in total project cost. The project closure date was December 31, 2008.
1.2 Original Project Development Objectives (PDO) and Key Indicators

The PDOs of the APL Phase I project were to ensure: (i) sustainable and efficient water conveyance, distribution and use in the two spate irrigation schemes of wadis Tuban and Zabid, through rehabilitation and PIM; and (ii) increase in agricultural productivity and rural incomes, through implementation of an intensive agriculture demonstration program (ADP). The key indicators are as follows:

Key Indicators PAD Targets
Indicators for both PDOs (i) and (ii):
 Number of established and empowered water user organizations (attributed mainly to Component B (PIM), as explained below).

 Incremental rural areas benefiting from the spate rehabilitation / modernization and flood protection works (attributed mainly to Component A but also to Components B, C and D, as explained below in Section 3.2).
 443 WUGs (230 Tuban and 213 Zabid); 32 WUAs (16 Tuban and 16 Zabid); 2 ICs (1 Tuban and 1 Zabid).
 Improved irrigation and flood control on 26,000 ha (11,000 ha Tuban and 15,000 ha Zabid).
Indicator for PDO (ii) only:
 Increased productivity per hectare and farmer income (attributed mainly to Component C (ADP) but also to Components B and D, as explained below in Section 3.2).
 Increased productivity and incomes from 5,000 ha of demonstration farms.
1.3 Revised PDO (as approved by original approving authority) and Key Indicators, and Reasons/Justification.

There has been no considerable revision as to the key PDOs and respective indicators. However, some of the indicators were rephrased or simplified per the approved Development Credit Agreement (DCA) amendments that have taken place during the project lifetime. Sections 1.7 and 2.3 below elaborate on these DCA amendments and on the associated revision of the indicators, respectively.
1.4 Main Beneficiaries

The direct project beneficiaries identified in the PAD are the farmers, farm workers and families whose livelihoods will have been improved by the project interventions. These beneficiaries were estimated to total 150,000 people in 27,000 households. Other identified beneficiaries include:

a) The MAI including regional agencies;

b) Water user organizations established and empowered by the project, including canal-level water user groups (WUGs) and water user associations (WUAs) and two wadi-level Irrigation Councils (ICs); and

c) Non-irrigation (domestic) water supply users, mostly in the surrounding rural areas, benefiting from the reduced over-extraction of groundwater resulting from the project.
1.5 Original Components

The project’s original components, all relating to interventions in the Wadi Tuban and Wadi Zabid areas, were:

a) Rehabilitation, Improvement and Protection of Spate Irrigation Infrastructure (Component A), including rehabilitation and improvement works for irrigation systems, flood protection works and roads, together with associated surveys, hydraulic modeling, detail design and construction supervision;

b) Irrigation and Environment Management and Participatory Irrigation Management (Component B), covering: (i) establishment of and support for PIM organizations, (ii) development of spate irrigation management systems including water management information systems (MIS), flood warning systems, spate management model and hydrological monitoring, (iii) provision of operation and maintenance (O&M) equipment, and (iv) environmental mitigation and enhancement measures, including groundwater and hydraulic monitoring, upper watersheds study, and Wadi Tuban soil salinity/sodicity study/mapping;

c) Intensive Agriculture Demonstration Program (Component C), covering large scale demonstrations for agriculture improvements and associated extension services development and support including technical assistance (TA); and

d) Institutional Strengthening and Capacity Building (Component D), covering irrigation sector institutional and legal framework development support, Phase II project preparation, and establishment of and support to the PMU and PIUs.
1.6 Revised Components

None, but there were changes within components as explained in Section 1.7 below.
1.7 Other Significant Changes

A number of amendments to the DCA) were made during the course of the project. Firstly, in August 2003, the DCA was amended to allow for Component A improvements covering:

a) Rehabilitation (including asphalting) of existing service roads for improved canals and access roads connecting the project-served villages and market centers within the project area;

b) Community participation works, through permitting civil works of less than US$10,000 per contract and up to an aggregate amount not exceeding US$1,200,000 to be executed directly through the concerned WUAs; and

c) Shopping for small works, through permitting works of less than US$30,000 per contract and up to an aggregate not exceeding US$500,000 to be procured under lump-sum fixed-price domestic contracts awarded on the basis of shopping for three quotations.

About two years later, in October 2005, the DCA was amended and the closing date was extended from June 30, 2006 to June 30, 2007. Then, in June 2007, the DCA was further amended and the closing date was extended from June 30, 2007 to December 31, 2008. The extensions were to allow for: (i) completion of civil works; and (ii) applying some project design changes aimed at improving project impact, as explained below. The changes were effected through DCA amendments only (rather than through first-order project “restructuring” involving changes to the PDOs or substantial project design changes). These DCA amendments were as follows:

a) October 2005 (as a result of the “Mid Term Review” undertaken in late 2004). To help expedite the then-lagging civil works (Component A), the amendment allowed for increased farmer ownership via administration/execution of community-level spate irrigation works at the community level, through clarification of the 2003 amendment relating to WUA contract works. The clarification defined the arrangements for cost sharing (in cash and in kind). Details are provided in Annex 2. The amendment also simplified the disbursement condition included in the original DCA which specified that civil works could start only after WUA establishment. Scheme headworks and main canals were deemed to be public infrastructure, and the disbursement condition was amended to be applicable only in the case of the (quasi-private) secondary and community-level tertiary canals. This allowed for headworks and main canal works to be started in advance of establishment of WUAs for the lower-order canals; and

b) June 2007 (to make use of project cost savings). It was decided that available unused project funding should be directed towards applying lessons learned and piloting fresh development ideas in a third wadi (Wadi Ahwar in Abyan Governorate). Wadi Ahwar was shown to enjoy more favorable enabling conditions than either Wadi Zabid or Wadi Tuban. Activities introduced into the project included: (i) completion of feasibility study and designs for rehabilitation of the wadi’s spate diversion system and flood protection works (including application of fresh ideas for developing the potential for “conjunctive use” involving also groundwater usage to help to improve the socio-economic viability of spate irrigation), all to be implemented under the recently-approved Water Sector Support Project (WSSP); and (ii) execution of small urgent works for protection of villages from flooding and for rural water supply. Details are provided in Annex 2.

Why/how were the funds allocated to Component B significantly decreased, and those allocated to Component A significantly increased, without compromising the PDOs?

Per the ICR review meeting, the IDA task team was requested to elaborate on why/how the IDA/GOY funds allocated to Component B were significantly decreased, while those allocated to Component A were significantly increased, without affecting the PDOs. The sections below provide elaborations. Throughout the project lifetime (FY2000 to FY09) there have been three main causes which inevitably changed the funds allocated to Components A and B, as follows.

(1) Cost reductions under Component B and cost increases under Component A:

Project cost savings in IDA commitments were estimated at US$3.5 million in FY07/FY08 (comparing cost estimates between FY2000 and FY2007). These savings helped to reallocate funds across project components, particularly from Component B to Component A. The origins of the cost savings were:

a) Savings in goods and equipment, due to GOY/MAI obtaining water gates from a parallel Japan-funded grant rather than from IIP. This reduced the IDA allocation intended for funding the Goods/Equipment under Component A and also helped reduce corresponding IDA funds allocated to Component B(iii) (“provision of O&M equipment”, which would have cost US$3.8 million per the PAD). To effect these savings, IDA disbursement Category 1 on Goods/Equipment was officially revised from SDR 2.4 million (per original DCA) to SDR 0.9 million; and

b) Other technical savings (in consultancy services), particularly due to resorting selectively to hiring national rather than international consultants across IIP components. At appraisal, in hindsight the appraisal teams envisaged a sizable number of international consultants (man/days) particularly under Component B. Gradually, as the project progressed (and particularly after the Social Mobilization Teams achieved progress under Component B), the MAI and IDA teams reworked the consultancy plans by FY04, in order to make use of the on-the-job knowledge/skills accruing to the national consultants and to MAI/PMU/PIUs. For instance, GDI executed the “upper watersheds” study (under Component B(iv)), which would have otherwise cost US$0.3 million (per the PAD) if executed by international consultants. The same applies to the groundwater and hydraulic monitoring activities and the “soil salinity/sodicity” study in Tuban (which per the PAD would have cost US$0.6 million and US$0.2 million respectively), both under Component B(iv).

While the above are deemed positive (efficiency-caused) cost savings, on the negative side the following issues have also resulted in reducing the cost of Component B while increasing the cost of Component A (as explained further in Section 2.2 below):

a) Subcomponent B(ii) on “improving spate water management” (US$0.9 million per the PDA) was not duly implemented (particularly in Wadi Tuban), due to the lack of capacity at NWRA and MAI/GDI needed for the two agencies to cooperate toward executing the activities, and

b) Funds allocated to Category 2 on civil works (for Component A) were increased due to escalated price/physical contingencies, often associated with the delay in contract execution (which attributes to lack of capacity of national contractors as noted below in Section 2.2).

(2) Community contribution to capital and O&M costs:

Also, starting FY05, the community contributions (which thanks to the 2003 and 2005 DCA amendments were made “targeted”, to sustain the feeder subsystem) helped to reduce the respective IDA allocation to Components A and B (subcomponent B(iii) on “provision of O&M equipment”). These contributions amounted to a total of US$0.3 million in FY09. Empowering the communities through these two DCA amendments also helped achieve (procurement/efficiency related) cost savings across project components.

(3) Lately added GOY funds and utilization of the unallocated IDA category:

Corresponding to the aforementioned savings from IDA, in FY07 the GOY additionally allocated US$0.30 million to support Component A (particularly for Wadi Ahwar). Also the project utilized the unallocated category, by reducing it from SDR 1.6 million to SDR 200,000 in FY08 in order to top up Category 2 on civil works (Component A).

The above cost savings/reductions considerably helped in funding the new activities in Wadi Ahwar, per the 2007 DCA amendment as explained above.

The changes to the M&E indicators associated with the above design changes are presented below in Section 2.3.

Justification for not undergoing a first-order project restructuring:

Had the above changes, reallocations and simplifications been made all at once at some point in time, GOY and IDA teams might have considered a first-order project restructuring . Since much of these changes occurred sporadically throughout the project lifetime, the GOY and IDA teams effected them by resorting to amending the DCA and the respective project documents (including ISRs during FY04 to FY09), per the following.

The DCA amendments and category reallocations (August 2003 and October 2005) were effected in consistence with the following guidelines:

“Minor changes are approved by Country Directors (CDs). Such changes may include modifications limited to changes in executing units or denominations, implementation plans and schedule changes, new action plans to bring the project back on track, new reporting requirements (or other adjustments to improve implementation), loan closing dates, implementation dates that under the terms of the legal agreement may be put into effect by notice, or a reallocation of loan proceeds that do not affect the project’s design, scope, or expected outcome. Minor changes are proposed, approved and documented through the routine ISR updating process and can be counted towards pro-activity for purposes of project “upgrading” in the Region’s judgment, but not for labeling as restructuring. These cases may also require legal amendments”.

However, the DCA amendment made in June FY07 was effected through the Regional Vice-President’s (RVP’s) approval, which is consistent with the following recent guidelines (2006):
“Second-order restructurings are those where the project design or implementation arrangements are significantly modified (e.g., including reallocations of inputs and/or changes in outputs) but there is no change in PDOs or associated outcome targets. Under the new procedures, second-order restructurings are approved by Regional vice presidents (RVPs)”.
2. Key Factors Affecting Implementation and Outcomes
2.1 Project Preparation, Design and Quality at Entry

a) Conformity with country and sector policies and strategies. The project formulation conformed well to the Bank’s Country Assistance Strategy (CAS), primarily through its strong provisions for: (i) improved water management and irrigation infrastructure sustainability; and (ii) enhanced agricultural productivity for poverty reduction. It also addressed well key government irrigation sector priorities relating to sustainability improvements for spate irrigation systems and corresponding institutional decentralization and user participation.

b) Relevance and appropriateness of project objectives, components and design. The project’s two PDOs, presented at Section 1.2 above, reflect well and succinctly the priority development areas indicated above. The four project components likewise explicitly address the priorities of physical and operational water management improvements and sustainability coupled with increased agricultural production for enhanced rural community incomes. With regard to the two wadi spate irrigation schemes selected for project interventions, there was at the time of project preparation a full awareness of highly significant and heavily entrenched socio-economic inequities prevailing in the Wadi Zabid area. It was also clear from the various interactions with system users and prospective beneficiaries at that time that the potential for achieving a successful project outcome from the point of view of sustainable and equitable water management arrangements in that wadi area could be considered rather limited. It might have been better to select a less problematic pilot scheme for the Phase I project. On the other hand, there was a strong desire to proceed with interventions in this otherwise high priority scheme and to thereby ameliorate to the extent possible the unfavorable situation of the disadvantaged downstream scheme users.

c) Soundness of institutional and implementation arrangements. The formulated institutional arrangements for project implementation, covering a central PMU and two wadi-based PIUs overseen by a SC chaired by the Minister of MAI, as described at Section 1.1 above, would seem to have been both simple and effective. Also, seemingly most appropriate were the principles formulated for establishment of water user organizations, particularly WUAs at secondary canal level, and of joint system management entities, namely the ICs at wadi level, all aimed at helping to secure the long-term sustainability of the improved schemes. The requirement that WUAs be established prior to disbursements for corresponding civil works, which was set as a credit condition, became an important issue during implementation. The condition was aimed at ensuring that there would be participation, consensus and commitment on the part of the users relating to planned scheme improvements and subsequent systems O&M before the making of heavy physical infrastructure investments, and it arose largely as a consequence of the perceived problematic inequitable socio-economic situation in the Wadi Zabid area. An intensive user mobilization and WUA formation program was formulated and planned for execution during the first year of the project, in parallel with participatory planning and design of scheme improvements, and a substantial budget provision was made to cover this and subsequent PIM developments. In the event it appears that the overall program and process was not given the expected prioritization and importance, and that the corresponding budget provision was reallocated largely to physical works items. This comment extends also to most of the various other formulated non-works interventions (e.g. for water resource monitoring and management improvements, O&M equipment provisions, environment-oriented operations, and institutional strengthening). A notable exception seems to have been the ADP, which is reported to have been fully implemented and to have led to significant positive agricultural productivity impacts. It may be that the generally poorer-than-expected implementation performance on institutional development aspects, and the delays in disbursements for civil works, resulted largely from implementation period constraints, as outlined in Section 2.2 below. On the other hand, some may consider that, during project preparation, a greater degree of subtlety, flexibility and/or pragmatism in this area could perhaps have been applied, as it seemingly was later on, following the mid-term review, when the WUAs establishment condition for disbursements for civil works was modified to allow works for headworks and main canals to proceed in advance.

d) Application of previous lessons learned. The comprehensive nature and relatively large scope of the designed PIM and institutional development components of the project resulted from previous lessons learned about the need for beneficiary participation and joint management in the development and usage of irrigation systems in order to achieve sustainability over the long term. It remains to be seen whether the reduced importance given to this in terms of priority and scope of interventions during implementation will still lead to the desired long-term sustainability of the physical infrastructure investments and of the related enhanced agricultural productivity.

e) Identification and mitigation of risks. Risks relating to potential farmer and government agency shortfalls in terms of capacities and contributions were identified and addressed as part of project formulation. At the more fundamental level of underlying government commitment to irrigation sector institutional reform and support of corresponding improvement measures, it was established that these were indeed generally in place. What was perhaps insufficiently addressed was the risk that such commitment and support would not continue into implementation at the same high level and would not translate into timely and effective program implementation actions.

f) Choice of lending instrument: After considering the water management “Log-Frame”, the preparation/appraisal teams considered the APL as the most relevant instrument because IIP’s phase 1 (APL1) needed to test fresh ideas which were not tested before in Yemen’s coastal wades. These included concepts such as the PIM concept (Component B) and the “more-crop-per-water-drop” concept (Component C). Proven successful, APL2 would then replicate these ideas on other wades which use spate water.
2.2 Implementation

From its commencement in 2000, project implementation was constrained by design-related difficulties (particularly the pre-requisite condition of establishing the WUAs prior to design and execution of the civil works) and/or by other major externalities. These either slowed down implementation progress or made it difficult for the impacts of conventional irrigation system improvements to “trickle down” to a large number of end use beneficiaries. These difficulties and externalities included:

a) Abnormal unpredictable droughts (particularly in Wadi Tuban, which was deemed to have suffered a 1-in-50 year drought several times in the last decade);

b) Frequent social unrest in the south (Wadi Ahwar);

c) Sluggish national contractors (particularly those who had other larger and more lucrative contracts with the GOY and hence lacked incentives to expedite their IIP contracts);

d) Chronically inequitable upland-lowland water rights issues in the west (Wadi Zabid, associated largely with the regressive social and land distribution situation prevailing there);

e) The inherent difficulties of spate water management, stemming from the inability to readily store spate water, due to the abrupt and erratic nature of flash floods, and to therefore prevent large losses of water to the sea or to desert fringes, leading to the situation whereby incremental agricultural benefits cannot often offset the large investments needed to improve the physical systems; and

f) The insufficient capacity at NWRA (the water regulator) and MAI/GDI (the water user), particularly affected the implementation of Subcomponent B(ii) on “Improving Spate Water Management”. This issue has been insurmountable in the medium term, but has been addressed per the design of the recently-approved WSSP (2009-2014).

In response to the challenges presented by these constraints, and to try to raise the return on project investments, efforts to re-focus and diversify the IIP components began in 2003. A heavy focus on the irrigation subsector and on costly conventional rehabilitation of spate irrigation infrastructure was modified to develop and follow a more comprehensive cross-sectoral approach (mostly through the 3 DCA amendments explained at Section 1.7 above). Decisions and actions taken on this covered:

a) Rehabilitation and asphalting of key service roads for canals as well as farm-to-market roads, to raise the return on investments and to improve the well-being of the rural inhabitants;

b) Improvement of community engagement through the indicated DCA amendments;

c) Rehabilitation of flash flood and environment protection works;

d) Revisiting the ADP component with a view to increasing crop yield per cubic meter of water (rather than only increasing yield per hectare);

e) Empowering the ICs and WUAs to apply the GOY-enacted Water Law;

f) Preparation (through an international QCBS bid) of a master plan for surface-/groundwater conjunctive use in a third “more promising” wadi (Wadi Ahwar), aiming at low-cost harvesting of the spate water and increasing the inter-seasonal subsurface storage volumes (useful for non-irrigation uses and for counteracting sea water intrusion). The master plan is to be executed under the recently-approved WSSP; and

g) Addressing the capacity and inter-agency cooperation issues between NWRA and MAI as part of the design of the recently-approved WSSP.

Consequently, by the mid of FY2008, IDA’s Implementation Status and Results (ISR) Implementation Performance (IP) and PDO ratings had been raised from “MS” to “S” because there had been major progress in all of the aforementioned undertakings and components and in meeting most of the target outcomes or DCA milestones. The only exception to the latter used to correspond to the spate irrigation infrastructure component (Component A). The mixed performance on this component (due to the above-listed difficulties and externalities including tardiness of national contractors) had been the main reason for “MU” and “MS” ratings on previous ISRs (from late FY06 to late FY07). However, even with this component there was good progress gradually achieved during FY2007 and FY2008 because i) 70% of the lands targeted in the PAD were irrigated (due largely to high spate floods in the 2007 season, especially in Wadi Zabid); (ii) most of the main civil works were complete, and (iii) ICs and WUAs helped to address the water rights issue, particularly in Wadi Tuban. Further details are given in Annex 2.
2.3 Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Design, Implementation and Utilization

In the first 5 years of IIP implementation, the PMU employed an M&E officer who assisted the MAI and the IDA ISR teams with M&E. In the last 3 years however, the PIUs in Zabid and Tuban became the main direct sources of M&E data flow to the PMU, while the PMU’s M&E officer gradually phased out due to health reasons.

The M&E activities were supposed to be supported by MIS and Geographic Information System (GIS) applications. These, together with flood warning systems, spate management models and hydrological monitoring systems, made up the spate irrigation management improvement package provided for under the project’s Component B, and were established and tested. However, the project was unable to make these high-technology systems function as intended. The needed hydrological data could not be obtained, and the generated results could not be applied, because of a lack of cooperation between the MAI/IIP and the Ministry of Water and Environment (MWE)’s National Water Resources Authority (NWRA), particularly in Wadi Tuban. The NWRA, as the water resources regulation agency, is mandated to monitor and assess water resources availability. Measures to resolve this information flow and interagency cooperation issue have been formulated as part of the design of the recently-approved WSSP.

In Wadi Zabid, the IIP executed a civil-works contract for drilling four groundwater monitoring wells. The data from these wells, together with further needed water resources information obtained by the Wadi Zabid PIU with help from the TDA, were useful for monitoring of groundwater drawdowns over the life of the project. The groundwater drawdown is an important indicator for the project’s Component B Environmental Management Plan (EMP), and when reduced it would indirectly reflect IIP success in improving the management and use of surface water. The good cooperation with the TDA in Wadi Zabid was in contrast to that with the NWRA branch in Aden which is mandated to address Wadi Tuban, and lacked the capacity and the incentive to cooperate with the Wadi Tuban PIU in the provision and collection of water information. It is noted that the rainwater and flood flow gauges in Wadi Tuban, for which NWRA was responsible, were sabotaged several times during the project’s lifetime.

Also under the project’s Component B EMP, a water resources assessment was undertaken as part of an upper watershed study executed by the GDI with TA from IDA and FAO/CP. The results of the assessment were helpful in the M&E exercises undertaken by the PMU and IDA, particularly for Wadi Zabid.

To help secure sustainability of IIP interventions, the project provided assistance to the two ICs to closely monitor the performance of the established WUAs. Three broad performance indicators were established, namely (i) institutional, (ii) financial, and (iii) technical. Details of the adopted community-based M&E approach are given in Annex 2.

Commensurate with the design changes presented above in Section 1.7, MAI and IDA teams started by 2005 to revisit and simplify the M&E results framework as per the PAD. Per the PAD Annex 1 (dating back to 2000):

a) The APL and PDO indicators became no longer consistent with the APL milestones per the (amended) legal DCA; and

b) Some of the key indicators stated in Annex 1 (main-system spate schemes completed, cost sharing completed) became no longer directly attributed with the indicators listed in the PAD main text (on page 4: increased water availability, adequate financing of O&M of spate schemes, decentralization of government service).

The following Table 1 presents the revised and simplified M&E indicators.

Table 1: Revisited/Simplified Indicators
(comparing the PAD with the ISRs of FY05 to FY09)

APL and PDO indicators per the PAD of 2000 (Annex 1 Results Framework)
Revisions and simplifications associated with the design changes, per the DCA amendments. Reflected in MAI progress reports and in IDA ISRs starting FY05.
APL purpose 1: Sustainable spate water management:

APL purpose 1 indicators:
• GOY budget contribution reduced to zero
• Farmer organizations manage the schemes

PDO leading to APL purpose 1:
• Effective spate water control and conveyance structures, and
• Effective PIM

Indicators reflecting the PDO:
• Head-works and main canals of spate schemes rehabilitated, and
• WUAs and ICs established and agreed cost sharing paid

APL purpose 2: Improve agricultural productivity:

APL purpose 2 indicator:
Increased crop yield and cropped area

PDO leading to APL purpose 2:
Improved rural incomes

Indicator reflecting the PDO: increased agricultural productivity of spate schemes

PAD indicators no longer precise, as per the DCA amendment in 2005 GOY would still shoulder the O&M for the main system, while WUAs gradually takeover the subsystem. Hence, ISR PDO indicator was simplified to reflect the corresponding DCA milestones, thus: “Spate water management improvements by at least 80%” (inferred by the PMU reports on the % increase in on-farm water availability across the wadi).

Indicators no longer precise, as the 2003 DCA amendment added the rehabilitation of roads and community/subsystem works, and after the 2005 DCA amendment re cost sharing. Hence the ISR intermediate indicator was simplified accordingly. Targets were set at:
• A range 80% to 100% completion of all project-introduced infrastructure as consistent with the DCA, and
• 100% formation and empowerment of the agreed number of WUAs and ICs (32 WUAs and 2 ICs 2).

PAD indicators not precise due to unclear cause-and-effect attribution (increased productivity helps to increase rural incomes). Thus, the ISR PDO indicator was simplified to reflect the number of hectares improved due to ADP (for which yield has increased by at least 30%), as compared to the PAD target of 5,000 hectares.

2.4 Safeguard and Fiduciary Compliance

Safeguard policies. The only safeguard policy triggered was Environmental Assessment (OP 4.01, BP 4.01, GP 4.01). The Environmental Category was: B, Partial Environmental Assessment and EMP Requirements. At appraisal there were no major environmental issues arising from the partial EA completed for the IIP. The project was to have beneficial impacts on the environment, since it would increase the reliability of spate irrigation water and reduce overdraft of groundwater aquifers. However, due to changes in the pattern of water distribution as a result of rehabilitation of spate irrigation infrastructure, it was thought that reduction of recharge to certain areas could occur. On the other hand, improved water distribution was expected to result in a reduction of groundwater use in those areas. These benefits were deemed to outweigh any minor adverse environmental impacts (soil quality, waterlogging, water quality) resulting from agricultural activities in the improved areas.

Results from implementation of the EMP: The project has been satisfactory in the area of EMP execution. With regard to “hardware”, all of the village/wadi protection (or so called “environmental protection”) civil works have been completed. On the “software” side, progress has been satisfactory on the main items addressed by the EMP: (i) groundwater monitoring; (ii) environmental awareness and participatory management; and (iii) building the knowledge base on soil salinity/sodicity in Wadi Tuban. However, the cooperation between NWRA-Aden and Lahej RAO, the Wadi Tuban scheme operating agency, needs to be improved to allow for easy and timely provision of and access to the NWRA-Aden spate data, especially from the wadi’s Dukaim station. The upper watershed management study activity progressed well and included a remarkably good contribution from GDI. The study and mapping of soil salinity and sodicity in Wadi Tuban, including formulation of mitigation alternatives, was finalized, and study results were presented at a participatory workshop. The major finding of this study was that irrational groundwater use should be phased out and should be replaced by spate water usage and conjunctive use, since otherwise the over-drafting of groundwater beyond the safe yield level will result in further intrusion of seawater and hence further salinization of the wadi’s fertile soil. The Tuban IC has attempted to respond to this finding through prioritizing spate irrigation diversions to the saline land areas, in order to ensure the needed flushing of salts. Details on environmental and social monitoring and related capacity building issues are given in Annex 2.

Procurement. Per the last two ISR missions and the ICR mission the procurement rating has been “Satisfactory”.

Procurement performance: The procurement performance has been rated satisfactory in the last four years. The PMU has complied with the DCA. The post-review reports reflected the capacity of the PMU/PIUs to undertake procurement per WB guidelines. Also, Yemen IPR (Independent Procurement Review) reflected a satisfactory performance. The lessons learned are documented in Section 6 below.

Financial management (FM) and disbursement. Per the last two ISR missions and the ICR mission the FM rating has been “Moderately Satisfactory”.

FM and disbursement performance: The FM performance was initially rated satisfactory until December 2006, when the rating was downgraded to moderately unsatisfactory. Afterwards, the PMU complied with the DCA, particularly the financial covenant related to submission of annual audit reports and audited quarterly interim financial reports. The audit reports were unqualified. The Audit Report Compliance System reported no accountability issues from all the audit reports. The management letters included some recommendations to enhance the FM and accounting of inventory, asset register, advances, etc., which the PMU satisfactorily applied to its practices. The lessons learned are documented in Section 6.
2.5 Post-Completion Operation/Next Phase

As mentioned above, interventions in a third wadi, Wadi Ahwar in Abyan Governorate (7,000 ha), were added to the IIP during the later period of the project to serve as an advance introduction to the recently-approved WSSP (2009-2014). The IIP closing date extension from June 2007 to December 2008 was perceived by GOY and IDA to be a “bridging phase” between IIP and WSSP, rather than a fully-fledged APLII. The IIP’s APL Phase II will defacto be incorporated into the WSSP. During the bridging phase, uncommitted IDA funds resulting from Phase I cost savings were used to pilot fresh ideas relating to cross-sectoral conjunctive use of surface- and groundwater in the Yemeni coastal plains. Based on an extensive comparative study of 5 candidate wadis , Wadi Ahwar was selected for use of these funds for urgent flood protection, canal cleaning and village water supply works, and for execution of a major feasibility study for wadi-wide interventions to be implemented under WSSP.

To perform this experiment, they utilize a container where they magnetically chill sodium atoms of gas to only a few-millionths of a degree of absolute zero, and a consistency they like to call, “optical molasses.” In essence, they are firing finely tuned lasersinto a condensate of sodium atoms. Another group working with Hau’s group, led by Ronald L. Walsworth and Mikhail D. Lutkin of the Harvard-Smithsonian Institute for Astrophysics, used thealkaline metal rubidium in place of the sodium atoms. In a normal case, the gasses would absorb the light that is directed into the container, however scientists were able to prevent this by putting the gasses into a state of “electromagnetically induced transparency” by firing a “control” laser beam into the container. Then they were able to try using their probe laser (at a different frequency) into the container, where it slows down dramatically. Finally, to stop the probe light, they waited until the light had encountered the gas atoms and left a pattern in the spinning atoms, then reducing the intensity of the control beam. This effectively kept the information in the beam imprinted in the spinning atoms. Then they restored the control beam, and the light stored on the spinning atoms continued to go through the vessel. Fifty per cent of the light that went into the vessel was retrieved in the regenerated light pulse.

Whether the light was actually stopped is left to interpretation. The probe laser is a bundle of light waves that form a single wave. This is known to physicists as the “group velocity”. But stopping the group velocity doesn’t necessarily mean that the light waves themselves were stopped.

There is also competition in this field of light manipulation. Physicists in Princeton, N.J. pushed a laser pulse through a vapor of Cesium atoms to travel faster than the conventional speed of light, rather than slowing it down.

• Equal ranges or intervals. The data range (difference between maximum and minimum) is calculated and divided into equal increments so that the within-class ranges are the same, such as 1-3, 4-6, 7-9, and so on.
• Equal count (quantiles). Approximately the same number of observations is put in each class. The number of classes determines the technical definition of the map (quartile if there are four classes, quintile if there are five classes, and so forth). The term quantile is the generic label for data with observations divided into equal groups. This software option gives the user the opportunity to enter the number of classes desired. (This is the default in MapInfo^®.)
• Equal area. Breakpoints between classes are based on equality of area rather than equality of range or an observation count. If areas in a choropleth map vary greatly in size, this type of map will differ from an equal count map based on the same data. If areas are roughly equal in size (such as city blocks), the result will be similar to an equal count presentation.
• Natural breaks. In this approach, gaps or depressions in the frequency distribution are used to establish boundaries between classes. This is the default in ArcView^®, which employs a procedure know as Jenks’ Optimization that ensures the internal homogeneity within classes while maintaining the heterogeneity among the classes. (For more details, see Dent, 1990, pp. 163-165, and Slocum, 1999, chapter 4.)
• Standard deviation (SD). SD is a statistical measure of the spread of data around the mean, or average. In the literature of stocks and mutual funds, for example, SD is often used as a risk index, since it expresses the amount of price fluctuation over time. In the context of crime, SD can be a useful way of expressing extreme values of crime occurrence or portraying various social indicators. Generally, classes are defined above and below the average in units of 1 SD. The drawback is that this method assumes an underlying normal distribution, or bell-shaped curve, something of a rarity in social data.
• Custom. As the label suggests, this option allows users to determine class intervals according to their own criteria, such as regional or national norms and thresholds determined for policy reasons.

Table 2.1 summarizes the criteria for selecting methods to define class intervals for maps, providing a guide with respect to data distribution, ease of understanding, ease of computation, and other standards. (For a comprehensive discussion of issues relating to the determination of class intervals for maps, see Slocum, 1999, chapter 4.)

These records are at the forefront of popular and easy channels available at the finger tips of any internet surfer and resemble and open ground for any writer or thinker to present what goes on in his mind in his own way and preference…

And I have no doubt that the volume of reception of all that has been written and underlined in blocs and sites is very useful because it allows ample space for anyone  who desires to have a distinctive mark amongst others to present his beliefs..

And as accustomed to start publishing what is been written and noted I realized that it is appropriate to collect what I have noted throughout a whole year and post it on the Federation of UAE bloggers site where the weekly “Al Alam” newspaper has published some of its contents tackling various fields and various topics making it a printable bloc that can be read acquired and collected..

It is deemed necessary to point out that what the written and printed bloc would illustrate is a number of articles that emphasized my opinion or my ideas of a certain situation at the time of its birth that I have been able to capture and note…

My hope and wishes that these stand points would have a share in every reader’s interest and satisfaction…

God knows the purpose and intent..

The Social Indicator
Why can’t we have a reference when it comes to our social situation, to be always ready to cure our problems in this important area, and monitor our situation around time which consumes creative opinions and suggestions..

Economic indicators crossed my mind starting with black and yellow gold, currency and stock market and finally the consumer goods indicator.

If we thought of creating a social indicator focusing on specifying social tendencies towards positive and negative characteristics on a daily basis based on statistics and information that are available on an ongoing basis feeding into this indicator..

Problems like divorce, family feuds, raising children, worries, the world of teenagers, handicaps, effects of poverty, unfavorable social conditions needs continuous reading to provide specialists with wider horizons for therapy and confrontation methods..

However, studies in the social area take time and effort which are not compatible with the speed of information which is the dominant feature of this age, I believe that thinking in devising such an (indicator) guarantees steering the specialized academic study into the direction of critical and serious studies that impact communities directly..

We always fail to enlighten people when they are looking at themselves from a social perspective and not an individual basis, although many Arab communities started publishing through the Media with regards to these issues and embarked on the task, but actual satisfaction from beneficiaries is still at its lowest levels…

Will we receive some day, along with the morning and weather bulletin (an overview of social conditions) to start our work day reassured and looking forward to it…

Women’s Voice

I read in the BBC News that an American study conducted on a sample of women proved that women’s voices are softer during their menstrual cycle and the study included a recording of the women’s voices in four different stages during the menstrual cycle screened by a group of men and women. Reported by the New Scientist Magazine..

Although I was struck by the fact of such curiosity and out drift that scholars have reached, bearing in mind the notion of a possible connection with medical research, but my thoughts led me to venture the issue from its instinctual perspective related to God Almighty, as our Islamic religion has stated this period as a period of prohibition (of intimate encounters between the couple), but the study copies ill-treatments, women faced in Al Jahelaya (period of ignorance – before introduction of Islam) at times of this biological occurrence.

And for women to be more appealing in these times(menstrual cycle) GOD Almighty has balanced between the occurring physiological changes and the softness of voice discovered by the scholars here to compensate one feeling for the other..

The theory of feeling compensation is well known, one need replaces the other, it is of the nature of human beings to need feelings on a daily basis which differ in type, form, quantity and source due to changes in human interactions in the same day..

There is no harm if I say that the elevation of thought and deep understanding of sacred relations such as (marriage) in the Quranic text elevates men and women equally and spiritually before physically. The wisdom of the Creator dictates that there are incentives for legislation meaning that they appear in the (charged) via their instincts what propels them to live a better life and have a coherent psychological environment that elevates them to build life and anticipate communities.

All this starts from the first of institutions which is institution of marriage, Glory to God that created us and gave everything its right and the ability to guide itself to goodness.

Al Jazeera the Godmother of Satellite Channels

Our near space is filled with satellite broadcasting media that contains a share of news about international regional and local affairs.

And whoever puts the remote control in his hand and surfs these channels – upon an hour or half an hour can in print identical copies -if not twinned images – of these news bulletins not according to content but according to technicality of presentation – broadcast and standing in front of the camera.

We started to notice that anchors devise new smiles, fake spontaneity and side talks amongst themselves, exiting for a commercial break or presenting a correspondent through phone or satellite.

It even comes to showing studio backgrounds and back stage workers and to colors and shapes of microphones and designs of logos and emblems.

We saw that clearly and beautifully in Al Jazeera channel when it first showed in our Arab World, and we admired and were even looking forward to their professional and technical conduct in that.

But when the issue became a media fad, tended the channels that simulated this pattern to loose their individuality and proved the lack of its creativity and renewal in the near and distant future.

Al Jazeera remained the Godmother for technical media and all who followed considered free-riders without envy or jealousy.

But shouldn’t others pursue its path towards renewal and not just merely imitating its production, in other words, they should pursue actual renewal.

Cause what they have after Al-Jazeera channel is no renovation..

The Insane (Multimedia) Cough

It appears that insanity is a healthy phenomenon in everything that moves and even objects can sometimes be struck by insanity someday.
Multimedia has witness unparalleled insanity in our era and we don’t claim that this would stop at a certain extent due to what we observe on a daily basis but even on our daily basis – of streaming towards photography, projection, recording and communication each pinching his domain.

Video clips, visual communication through mobile phones, Messenger phenomenon, and mass use of digital devices has become the main concern of people, that following the (CD) and (DVD) fever, the world raced to explore (the direct access) away from recorded media.

Moreover, signal’s filling our air and environment has made life a classic multimedia..

And I also think that environmentalists occupied by setting measuring equipment and air quality monitors and dedicated themselves to monitoring this equipment and indicators claiming that there true intent is to conserve pure breathable air for whoever who wants to live, and I believe that they are in isolation of another environmental pollutant which is more dangerous than the one causing (the Cough) and requires consulting a Doctor..

So when they are sent and received waves, or even chaos found in our internal and external space or even our nostrils what is valid to be (memory) or (Flash Disk) or (MP3) or (smart and stupid chips) readable by those who possesses scientific and technological advancement, it becomes a matter requiring of caution, and I feel that science has changed everything in air (scandalous) into visual information that has made us sick..

For the present multimedia is considered cancerous to all physical and moral elements of life is a true meaning of the cancer’s effect of destruction the cells of precious healthy life Everybody is available no privacy with no restriction condition, no ceiling or bottom, of intellectual privacy or religion or community or even the individual..

Will we ever be cured of the daily (multimedia Cough).. ?

Format of article kills the drinker

I read in the Madinah newspaper on Friday 4/5/1429 Higgri an article amongst other local news headlines an article entitled the investigation authority demands execution of alcohol drinker with a seventeen precedent record..

My feelings were moved like any other local newspaper reader and many questions jumped to my mind all concerned with the fate of this claim, and its causes and repercussions of this matter in view of the alcohol drinking crime..

My thoughts were also diverted to compare the logic between the termination of human life by execution and the inevitable banning of alcohol use in the Islamic legislation (sharee’ah) and my face frowned due to an adverse reaction against the authority’s demand of such great punishment..

It also crossed my mind the repercussions of such an implementation and the basis on what it was build upon and will it be a deterrent to who’s weak soul might direct him to commit a similar act and all he knows as a main punishment to this crime is lashing..

And instantly my curiosity led me to read the article and its details that stated (the general branch of the investigation and prosecution authority in the Qussaim area demanded the execution of young Saudi man by tongue-lashing him for his repeated act for alcohol administration and the multiplicity of his precedents up to 17 times. This in compliance with a resolution of the leading scientists authority in this regard)..

Consequently, my doubts and concerns increased, after the details of the article were misleading and stripped of its direct message deceiving who reads the title of the article for the first time without reading the details..

Since the discussion is about (the legislative rules and its penalties) which is totally related to the purposes of Islamic legislation (sharee’ah), but I preferred to discuss as a primary standing in this subject the issue of the format of newspaper articles now only convinced of the different newspaper’s competition to create a form of fascination and attraction to the reader to follow up and read the newspaper’s detail..

But the greatest fall would be to get caught in deception of headlines and scattering of details away from the truth..

And all this implies my rage upon these entities that could possess their individuality without having to publish a paper article void of the alleged transparency..