The Ma’rib Governorate boasts relative oil wealth and strong tribal structures which oppose the rebel Houthi movement and regulate conflict. This has enabled the governorate to remain relatively stable amidst Yemen’s brutal civil war (Barry et al., 2024). As a result, Ma’rib has seen an influx of IDPs and internal migrants since the war began, with the number of inhabitants increasing from 400,000 to almost 3 million since 2014 (AlJazeera, 2021; BBC, 2023). Initially, the influx did not lead to conflict between the long-term residents – who primarily stayed in the countryside and the new arrivals – who settled in the centre of Ma’rib city (Sanaacenter, 2017). However, following the siege of the city by the Houthis in 2021 and the deadly battles taking place on its borders (Alsofari, 2021), displaced people were forced to stay in the city for longer periods, driving the number of inhabitants up and making Ma’rib the city with the largest amount of IDP non-camp sites[1] in Yemen (ACAPS, 2023). Tensions began to develop between long-term residents and new arrivals, complicated by the fact  that 79 percent of IDPs indicated that they had no intention of retuning to their original place of residence and desire to continue living in Ma’rib (Yakubi, 2023). Before the civil war, land-related disputes between local tribes in Yemen already claimed 4,000 lives yearly (Alaghbari, 2022).With the influx of IDPs into Ma’rib governorate as well as the increasing environmental degradation and climate impacts, these disputes became more deadly.

Up to 75% of these IDP sites are on private land, where landowners granted permission to IDPs to reside temporarily or are informally occupied (Jafarnia, 2022; ACAPS, 2023). Informal occupation has often occurred after landowners abandoned their properties during the war, and IDPs moved in in their absence, without landowners being aware. The majority of those lack formal land occupancy agreements between the land owners and the IDPs (ACAPS, 2023). Now, many of them are demanding their land be returned, leading to widespread tensions between IDPs and landowners. Almost 81% of IDPs in Ma’rib governorate report that they received verbal threats of eviction (Yakubi, 2023). This means that IDPs, who were initially uprooted due to the civil war, now face the risk of further internal displacement as a result of this ongoing conflict over land (Alaghbari, 2022).

Many of these disputes centre around the availability of agricultural land. Intensified heat, drought, and heavy rains are putting pressure on ecosystems and arable lands in Ma’rib, which have experienced a concerning degree of degradation in recent years. Crop failure induced by global temperature increase is also threatening agriculture in Yemen – currently at 1°C global warming, 0.03% of the land surface and 0.41% of the population experience at least one crop failure per year. The number of exposed population is expected to increase to 0.57% at 2 °C levels (Volkholz, 2021). Over the period of 2013 to 2019, nearly 40% of Ma’rib’s total agricultural area became completely unusable, leaving over half of the population facing potential famine (Barry et al., 2024). Sufficient available agricultural land is particularly important for Yemen, given that small, subsistence farming is the country’s largest and most important livelihood activity (IOM, 2024). This precarity along with the continued surge in IDP numbers and duration of stay led to the establishment of IDP camps on agricultural land, rendering it unusable for farming (Jafarnia, 2022). For instance, one host community member reported that an internally displaced family of 50 has dug up sewage holes on his farmland, which adversely affected land productivity (Jafarnia, 2022). Additionally, mobile farmers who lost their agricultural land in their hometown because of the civil war sought other farmlands in Ma’rib to pursue their livelihood, and sometimes settled on other host community member’s land  (IOM, 2024). This ignited further competition over agricultural land resources between IDPs and host communities and among IDPs themselves. As the impacts of climatic and environmental risks pronounce themselves more clearly, further tensions between these groups become even more likely (Barry et al., 2024).

In addition, Ma’rib city is one of the Yemeni cities that are particularly vulnerable to flash floods which are increasing in intensity and frequency as a result of climate change (Jafarnia, 2022; ACAPS, 2020; IOM, 2024). For instance, Ma’rib was among the cities that were the hardest hit by the heavy flooding and windstorms since 11 August 2024 which resulted in the damaging of public services including electricity networks, as well as 73 displacement sites and affecting over 21,000 households. (UN News, 2024). Flooding also washes significant amounts of waste, including conflict debris into residential areas. Access to land is further constrained by extreme weather events. For instance, floods in Ma’rib city have flushed land mines into agricultural areas, forcing farmers to abandon their land (Jafarnia, 2022). These extreme weather events also push IDPs to relocate again, risking further tensions and disputes amongst displaced people and long-term residents (ACAPS, 2023). 

A range of local, sub-national, and international actors have attempted to resolve Ma’rib’s land disputes. Typically, the first point of call is mediation and resolution through tribal structures (Yakubi, 2023). However, traditional ways of mediating disputes over land through the influence of local tribes have not been as reliable in recent years and in some cases have led to violent conflict (ACAPS, 2023).

Some landowners who are party to an ongoing dispute have attempted to reclaim the land through the legal system. Typically, seeking formal legal redress is unpopular, as it takes up financial resources, time and effort. Other elements such as corruption and nepotism are also perceived to influence the ruling of the court, further leading people to prefer conflict resolution mechanisms outside of Yemen’s formal legal system (Yakubi, 2023).

In addition, attempts by Ma’rib’s local government have been made to resolve land disputes. In 2019, Ma’rib Governor Sultan al-Arada approved the formation of a joint committee to adjudicate land disputes, prevent aggression against private land and property, and prevent unregulated construction work in flood-prone areas (Marebpress, 2019). Despite these efforts and given the scale of the challenges associated with encroachment, land dispute cases persisted. 

Humanitarian organisations operating in Ma’rib are also devising programs and initiatives to assist displaced people who are subjected to forced eviction or relocation (ICRC, 2020). Humanitarian responses include integrated analyses of the challenges that the displaced populations face when it comes to land tenure security, land governance and natural resource-based livelihoods in order to design interventions that directly address these challenges (ACAPS, 2023). Responding to these issues could have positive impacts on deescalating land disputes between IDPs and host communities by clearly demarcating IDP camp sites and delivering directed assistance to forcibly evicted people through devising durable solutions and strategies. 

The European Institute of Peace provided data sets that guided the development of this case study.