Will Water Pressures Spark the Next Middle East Conflict? | Defense Spending
In this volatile arena burgeoning populations are outstripping supply, in the process creating a looming freshwater crisis. Such a crisis may herald the very resource wars prophesied by environmental scholars, think tanks and government agencies. In such a fragile region the upheaval caused by water disputes in one area could threaten to spill across borders, dragging multiple nations into conflict.
With water a necessary and finite resource, industrialized nations such as Israel are pressed to improve their water-use technology while insuring hydrological capabilities and supply are not infringed upon by rivals. In other words, water security – both in terms of infrastructure and sources – is an imperative for the tiny state as its consumption rises due to improved living standards and a growing population.
Meanwhile the conflicting pressure caused by declining supply and increasing demand in the Arab world is aggravated by poor management and inefficient usage at the national level. Countries such as Jordan and Syria are running out of clean water, while Egypt has become more and more protective of its supply of Nile River waters.
Wars over water resources are not altogether a new concept in the Middle East. The Six-Day War of 1967 was in part an Israeli response to a Syrian attempt to dam the Yarmuk River, which feeds the Jordan River – itself a crucial water source for Israel. Altogether some 30 military clashes over water have occurred since the Israeli state was founded. These have alternately involved Syrian, Jordanian and Lebanese attempts to divert waters flowing from the Banyas, Dan, Hasbani and Yarmuk rivers into Israel. Feuds between Jewish settlers and Palestinians over a well in the West Bank city of Nablus back in March resulted in the shooting death of a Palestinian by Israeli forces.
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It’s not going to be war for water in or around Israel. There’s been trouble before, and there still some now, with the settlers glomming a lot of water in the West Bank, but Israel’s population is outstripping the water supply and the Israelis have been building large desalinization plants, enough so that they’ll be able to supply more than half, perhaps as much as 3/4 of the expected demand.
Saudi Arabia is also into gigantic desalinization projects.