Analysis of Various International Environmental Conflicts Essay

Using named examples, assess the potential for water supply to become a source of conflict. (15)

For starters, countries have power over certain waterways which can lead to conflict and tension within countries. In Document 3, we see the act of hydropolitics as many countries fight over the drainage basins they have to share. The Middle East and North Africa regions are most prevalent in this conflict

In Brian Parham’s article “There Are Multiple Threats to the Earth’s Environment,” published by The Bridge website on November 18, 2012, Parham claims that Earth’s environment is threatened by a wide variety of issues. Parham 's "There Are Multiple Threats to the Earth 's Environment" is an effective argument due to the strong uses of ethos and pathos, despite the weak use of logos.

The two most important resources in this region are oil and water. The huge oil “deposits there and in the neighboring countries around the Persian Gulf (the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, and Bahrain) established these countries as some of the richest in the world” (Document F). Nevertheless, the countries who do not have as much access to oil are weak economically. Oil is the biggest export in the Middle East, and in a way, the amount of oil a country has determines how wealthy that country will be. Another component of oil is that countries and ethnic groups are disputing for the control of prices of this economic resource. It has gone to the far extent of foreign countries attempting to control the oil price and also the use of weapons for this (Document E). In addition, it is impossible for each country to have equal access to water due to the unbalanced distribution of these essential resources. As a result of this, these countries are fighting for as much control of water sources they can get. Radically, there are many countries in the Middle East that are striving to obtain as many natural resources to strengthen their economy and lifestyle, and it seems most obvious that the scarcity of these resources is a significant problem in the region

Environmental scanning can be viewed as a way of acquiring information about outside events that can aid organizations in first identifying potential trends, then interpreting them

In the Middle East, water plays an imperative role in improving the quality of life and socioeconomic development (Priscoli, 1999). Water is a valuable resource all over the Middle East. Water is not only essential for life, but also for the progress of civilization in the Middle East (Center for South Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, 2017). Iran (former name Persia until 1935), one of the oldest cradles of civilization in the world, has made tremendous efforts into the past few thousand years to meet a sustainable water resource management. Water delivery, water balance, water storage, water quality, water protection, water saving, waste water controlling, hazard mitigation and adaptation are among the most important challenges which Iranians

The lust for territory seems to be the real source of conflict, and until one group is satisfied, the appearance of religious conflict will exist in the Middle East. It seems as if the real truth needs to be portrayed to the rest of the world about the true reason for the Arab-Israeli conflict, which is geography and ultimately water. The lack of water stems from the Great Syrian Rift Zone, and causes damage to Israeli land which ultimately decreases the amount of water that flows into the Red Sea. This lack of water causes Israel and other surrounding countries (Jordan, Lebanon, and the Occupied Territories) to only have one source of surface water, which is from Lake Kinnaret, or the Sea of Galilee that flows into the Jordan River.

Economic relations and resource management, 2. Ideology and culture including the way people think about the environment and water rights, 3.political agents like the state, transnational actors and organizations involved in water disputes and trade 4.the transnational social movements which endorse and resist water privatization, and 5.the power relations which engender unequal access to safe water (Bywater, 2008).

The ambition of the often autocratic leaders to acquire more land, which may bring them access to oil, water or arable land. The problem according to Sørli et. al is “scarcity” and “abundance” (147). Water is scarce, and oil is in abundance, but the access to both is limited. According to our text, the new “water wars” have emerged as a major source of conflict, in addition to the “oil wars” (Anderson et. al, 226). Water is scarce in the Middle East, and will continue to dwindle as the population rises. Not every country has the same access to the water sources, which will naturally cause problems. For example, Israel has control of the Golan, and Egypt of the Nile, and Kuwait of the Persian Gulf. Oil is in abundance, but only to a limited number of countries in the Middle East causing great economic disparity between those who have, and those who do not. Kuwait, having access to the Persian Gulf, produces a large supply of oil to international players. Given its high value internationally, and its worth, oil is much sought after.

I looked into the two most important water sources in Turkey, Tigris and Euphrates river basins. Tigris and Euphrates Rivers that originate entirely within highlands of eastern Turkey flow from the mountains of Anatolia (Taurus Mountains), into Syria, and then through Iraq. In addition, Tigris River spreads across Iran. Both rivers merge in southern Iraq and empty into the Persian Gulf. Since the rivers follow a southeastern route across arid lands of Syria and Iraq, they are fed very little when flowing through these lands. As there isn’t an effective international water management strategy for this region, countries are free to act unilaterally.

The world consists of many opposing views on how the world should function and how to best interact with it. The first points describes different environmental worldviews and the second point describes the importance of resource conservation.

The scarcity, depletion and polluting of water in one of the world's driest regions, is a problem that has perplexed the nations of the Middle East for decades. The riparian states of the Jordan River Basin include Israel, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon. These states are in a constant struggle over securing water rights for their respective states. The conflict over water is also overshadowed by the Arab-Israeli issues and the subsequent territorial questions. While territory is often at the forefront of the issues, securing water has also become a contributing factor in the conflicts of the past, and will continue in the future. Choices of conflict or cooperation will have to be made, given the diminishing amounts of water available.

Water is the main source of life on the Earth. It is vital for normal existence and functioning of organisms. Earth is sometimes called “water planet.” But, in fact, the number of freshwater is limited. “Only about 2 percent of the planet's water is fresh.” (How much water is there on Earth?) This water is not enough even to meet daily needs of mankind. According to World Health Organization, “a lack of water to meet daily needs is a reality today for one in three people around the world.” (2009) In the Middle East the situation is especially hard. This region is thought to be one of the droughtiest places in the world, most of it’s territory is deserted. Freshwater accounts to 1 percent of the world’s supplies, while the population comes

White’s thesis in The Historical Roots of our Ecological Crisis states that in order to confront the expanding environmental crises, humans must begin to analyze and alter their treatment and attitudes towards nature. The slow destruction of the environment derives from the Western scientific and technological advancements made since the Medieval time period. “What people do about their ecology depends on what they think about themselves in relation to things around them” (RON p.7). Technology and science alone will not be able to save humans until we adjust the way of thinking and suppress the old ideas of humans power above nature. Instead, we need to learn how to think of ourselves as being

In approaching this discourse, exploring whether or not mediation is a viable strategy to resolve environmental conflict, understanding that it digresses slightly from my original proposal, I was inspired to critically examine the possibility for mediation to be an option in approaching conflicts such as the one currently occurring in North Dakota between the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and Energy Transfer partners (the company behind the Dakota Access Pipeline) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the federal agency that granted the permits needed for the pipeline to be constructed. The Standing Rock conflict, while born of legitimate dispute-worthy issues and understandably garnering current attention, is not an anomalous scenario within the current socio-legal climate surrounding the intersection of treaty/indigenous rights and environmental conflict. These conflict scenarios are multi-faceted, possessed of layers, often including issues of historical conflict, cultural property disputes, land title disputes and in cases where there is direct action with intent to force cessation of industrial development such as we see with the Standing Rock conflict, there is also necessity to navigate conflict between activists and law enforcement. Where there is environmental conflict, increasingly with the rise of the modern environmental movement, there is opposition by concerned citizens, activists, First Nations advocates and other stakeholders. In examining this conflict and