Water In the Middle East: Prospects for Conflict and Cooperation

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

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

It is time to fully address the issue of the impending world water crisis by assisting the areas currently experiencing the crisis. Sub-Saharan Africa is the region most in need of international assistance, and a region in which we are already supplying aid. However, our current policies are not getting the

“The problem is, simply put, a dispute over real estate” (Gelvin 3). This conflict has resulted in major wars during the period of time following World War II. The 1948-1949 Arab Israeli war began when Egypt, Syria, Iraq, and Lebanon invaded Palestine. The second war that occurred, was the 1956 Suez Canal War, at the end of this war Israel agreed to withdraw from the Sinai Peninsula and the Gaza strip

The point is that water is a precious commodity even during times of peace and prosperity, and it needs to be protected at all times.

Having water everywhere in site. Everything that the Arabs do involve water. They use transportation with boats, growing crops, fishing and many more. The marshlands influenced the Arabs to use water to their advantage and not let it slow them down. They decided to use the water to their advantage grow crops. Growing is a need in the marshlands because they can grow crops to eat but the Arabs weave so they need string but they don't have string so they go to reads. Reads aren't something you can make. Without the reads they can't make baskets to trade. Trading is a job so with out reads there someone in need of a job and then there's the person who needs to make the reads which is another job. So basically if their is no water then reads can’t

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.

The purpose of this research paper is to discuss the water crisis in the region of Africa and how water can cause many other problems such as inadequate sanitation, poverty and diseases for the population. People living in third world countries are suffering from the water crisis that has become a major problem for the United Nations, World Health Organization, United Nations Children’s Fund, Millennium Development Goals and many of the other organizations. For some of these organizations have been successful in providing a bit more water through the years it’s still a working process. Water is essential for life, it’s not just for the body’s physical need; yet millions of people do not have access to clean water. The lack of accessible of fresh water contributes too many diseases such as HIV, AIDS, waterborne diseases, causing the death of millions of women and children annually in the region. This is making it harder for the communities to develop a safer home for their families and to improve the conditions of the country. This research paper will examine the problems, solutions and causes. How it all comes together, to contribute to this water crisis and to weather there is a solutions set by the United Nations, studies that have been conducted and other organizations, which can maybe work for the years to come. In addition, the same water problems are going to be discussed with regard to Africa for statics, examples and quotes done by the organizations in the past and

We are living in an era in which war is becoming more socially acceptable, countries around the globe are waging wars and threatening to start wars over small conflicts. It almost seems like countries prefer to resolve problems using force than the use of peaceful conversations. In the text, we are told that there is a water crisis in the south west. Because of this crisis both the United States and Mexico started to lose control of their

Priscoli, J. D. & Wolf, A. T. (2009). Managing and Transforming Water Conflicts: USA: Cambridge University Press.

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.

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

Regardless of the past, the importance of water in the Middle East as a source of conflict has been continually under-appreciated both within the region and abroad. As Boutros Boutros-Ghali warned before taking his position as Secretary General of the United Nations in 1992, "the next war in our region will be over water, not politics."2 Water has a deeply spiritual importance in the Middle East. For over 1,500 years, Islamic law has dictated punishments to those denying access to or polluting water, because it holds water as reverent and spiritually pure. The Zionist tradition holds a similar reverence for the land and its resources.3