حملة للحفاظ على المياه في اليمن

Welcome to BBC Xtra English.

Today Somaya and John are talking about how a cartoon character in Yemen is trying to persuade the population to conserve water in face of future shortages.

The population of Yemen is set to double by 2035. The National Water Resources Authority thinks that shaping public opinion is essential in its efforts to reduce water consumption.

They have developed a loveable cartoon character with a jaunty moustache called Rowyan. He is joined on the campaign by his wife Rowyana and they appear on national TV and on billboards across the country to raise awareness about the need to save water.

The BBC's Ginny Hill reports that the novelty value of the campaign is helping to make it a success. And the campaign needs to succeed as Sana, the capital city of Yemen, is projected to be the one of the first capital cities in the world that will run out of water.

This is because it gets its water from wells that are hundreds of metres deep and it's unclear when the water table will fall beyond a viable level for human use.

Are you concerned about global water shortages? Do you think governments should do more to encourage their populations to save water? What steps do you take to conserve water?

هل انت مهتم بنقص المياه في العالم؟ هل ترى أن على الحكومات عمل المزيد لتشجيع السكان على الحفاظ على الماء. ما هي الخطوات التي تتخذها بنفسك للحفاظ على الماء؟

أنقر هنا للاستماع للكلمات

cartoon character
شخصية كاريكاتير/ رسوم متحركة

conserve
يحفظ

jaunty moustache
شارب مشذّب

billboards
لوحات الإعلان

raise awareness
رفع مستوى الوعي

novelty value
عنصر الابتكار

water table
مستوى المياه الجوفية

viable level
المستوى القابل للاستمرار

Shabwah, Yemen

Obviously our main problem in Yemen is lack of water as we are spending huge quantities watering qat trees. Secondly the way of using the water is not using the most advanced methods. I hope people in Yemen will try to get the qat tree from their happy land that has the weather to produce all kinds of vegetables and fruit.

شروط وبنود الاستخدام