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Water: Middle East
built 270 days ago
Water is a cardinal issue in the Middle East. Any year there is a drought, it makes headlines. Otherwise, it is always there, lurking in the background, behind the religious and nationalist slogans and rhetoric. A 1995 ENCOP survey by Stephan Libiszewski documented the distribution of water resources in the Jordan River Basin: Israel, Palestine and neighboring countries. There is not much water, and what there is, is claimed by all countries.
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Large metropolises like Rotterdam, London, Montreal, Paris, New York City, Shanghai, Tokyo, Chicago, and Hong Kong owe their success in part to their easy accessibility via water and the resultant expansion of trade. Islands with safe water ports, like Singapore, have flourished for the same reason. In places such as North Africa and the Middle East, where water is more scarce, access to clean drinking water was and is a major factor in human development.
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In most areas in the Middle Rio Grande Valley, water leaks from the Rio Grande and is used by riparian vegetation, is intercepted by riverside drains, or moves to the Santa Fe Group aquifer system. Cochiti Dam, which is used for flood control and diversion of water, and three diversion structures (Angostura, Isleta, and San Acacia) have modified the river system in this valley.
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Most Mid-Eastern countries suffer from a shortage, and the scarcity of water is used as a political issue and a lever. Adel Darwish reviews some of the different water crises in the Middle East at http://mideastnews.com/water.htm, and shows how they could lead to a war or wars in the near future.
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