Water conflict on MENA
Water conflicts due to the scarcity, in the MENA region.
Most of the countries belong to the Middle East regardless of locations, are facing a rapid increase in water scarcity, this is aggravating the effects of the climatic changes in every aspect of usable water. If we talk about per capita water resources we will find many countries that have very low per capita water, which has dropped to 170 cubic meters per annum. This is a sad demise, but this is an internationally recognized issue. Reduction in per capita share of water means a shortage of food production, slow economic development, and social instability of the entire Middle Eastern (Haskins, Dold & Clarke, 2010). On the other hand, a rapid increase in the population of the Middle East is creating a food shortage. Countries of MENA are completely dependent on food imports to fulfill the daily needs of crops which is been accompanied by the fuel prices they export, since the 1970’s. Throughout the decades from 1970 to 2000, the import bill has risen to 17-fold, on the bases of an average increment of 10% per annum (Hakimian, 2003; Molden, 2007; Hemson et al., 2008). This is the region known as the home of 6.3% world’s population, but the darker side shows only 1.4% of the world’s renewable freshwater, that is why countries belong to MENA are suffering from severe water scarcity. Allan (1997) also reports that in the 1970s the MENA region ran out of the water, that was the most difficult situation to meet the water, food, and manufacturing.
This region has many largest oil reserves of the world, which helps in producing most of the wealth. the climate or the environment is so harsh and constantly making the living harsh also. One of the studies explores that millions of deaths occur annually just because of the shortage of clean and fresh drinking water availability. This NEWS was seriously heartbreaking, the people belong to that region which has this blessing, they do not even think about it for a single time while it is the game of living or death for many people.
Jordan and Syrian are part of the desert, and both are facing severe water scarcity. Jordan's freshwater withdrawal is less than 10% on average, while the cost of water has increased 30% just in ten years. Yemen has failed to produce or grow enough food for its population for sustainability.
The water conflict in MENA is the result of water scarcity. This conflict on the water that starts from Jordan River and surrounding aquifers has a tangled affair with Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, and West Palestine, here Syria and Lebanon are at the upstream states that are the very first country for using this water resource, even though they are not using it, appropriately. On the other, the downstream countries like Israel, Jordan, and the West Bank-Gaza are generally taking the remaining water or sometimes they act forcibly to acquire the water to fulfill their basic need of water. This conflict is not a new phenomenon it has been for many decades and a part of the broader Arab-Israeli conflict. There are several conflicts in this region; The Johnston Plan, the Israeli national water carrier, and Jordanian East Ghor Canal that have occurred over the years. If we focus, the downstream countries need some additional water for the supply in new growing cities, that could support irrigation and its development, that allow living standards to raise. In this situation, Israel is in strong condition and acquires the most of its wants while on the contrary Jordan and West-Bank-Gaza are weak and have to adjust with whatever is available.
In the past thirty years, the water table has dropped almost one meter per year in this region. by this current rate, it is an expectation that the UAE will be depleted its resources of natural freshwater in just about fifty years. Even the predictors are saying a large number of desalination plants are required to reduce water deficiency or to the purification of water or to convert contaminated water into the drinkable water, in this situation the UAE will need to adjust its water usage before consumption becomes double in 2020.
The indicators are suggesting some of the necessary cooperation between the government and the region who is facing this dangerous water crisis. Because many countries are sharing at least one underground water reservoir with the neighbors, these circumstances highlight the importance of cooperative management, by this many countries can make a full-fledged agreement to share water resources. On the other side, it indicates the control of water resources and access to water soon will become the main cause of the conflicts and disputes, between this region and likely to experience in the near future. To overcome on this issues everyone needs to join their hands together for the brighter future without any scarcity or conflict.