Human Impact on Natural Systems in the Middle East - Essay Example

Human Impact on Natural Systems in the Middle East The natural systems of the world are some of its most important aspects since they are the ones which enable the earth to sustain itself, and all the creatures that are within it. The various natural systems are the ones that define the environmental zones that can be found all over the world; without them, the earth would be unrecognizable. In some cases, it is possible that without the natural systems, the earth would become a harsh environment indeed, not being able to sustain those that currently exist within it. Since time immemorial, human beings have had to adapt to these different natural systems in order to survive, and throughout this time, this race has proven to be among the most resilient in the world. While one cannot help but commend the hardiness of this race in its ability to survive even some of the harshest conditions in the world, it should be noted that human beings, through their activities, have had an impact on the naturals systems within which they have come to settle. This is a consequence of their attempts to adapt to these environments, and while some of the impacts may be positive, sadly, a majority of them tend to be negative, as it has often led to the destruction of the natural systems that are involved. Among the most affected areas in the world today, due to human activity, is the Middle East where there has existed, for thousands of years, great civilizations, which have impacted significantly on the natural systems. Human beings in the Middle East were, for a long time, primarily pastoralists and because of this, they had an impact on the environment. This region is primarily arid or semiarid and because of this, the pastoralists had to move from place to place with their livestock in order to find sustenance. These people tended to have large herds, which fed on the scarce vegetation that could be found in this region at the time (Bocco & Jaubert, 1994). Consequently, large tracts of rare vegetation were destroyed by these animals and with this destruction came the destruction of many diverse ecosystems. With the destruction of the plant life also came the continued desertification of the region as the scarce plant cover was stripped away by the large herds of livestock (Davis, 2010). In recent times, however, as many people in the region have come to abandon pastoralism in favour of living in urban areas, some of the vegetation that was almost completely destroyed has begun to thrive again. The Middle East is a major source of oil and natural gas and it has been stated that it holds some of the largest reserves of these resources in the world. Over the last few decades, these resources have been a major source of income for the countries, which can be found in this region. Not only has it enabled their governments to have plenty of wealth to fund expansive social welfare systems, but it has also enabled the increase of the standard of living, with some even stating that these standards are higher than those in the Western world (Toksoz, 2000). While this is true, there has also been a significant impact on the environment. The first of these has been the discharge of carbon fumes to the environment from the oil mining sites. The mining of oil and its refining involves the burning of the fossil fuels involved so that the product can be extracted from the ground, and this means that there has been a rise in the carbon emissions in the region in recent decades. While the mining of oil has and continues to be a profitable venture, it has come to bring harm to the environment as it has contributed an immense deal to global warming (Hawley, 2004). While some places in the Middle East were extremely dry, with the commencement of oil mining, these places have become even drier and hotter, this has led to the destruction of quite a number of plants, and animal life since the increased heat has destroyed their ecosystems. The increase in heat has also ensured that the scarce water resources that were previously available have become scarcer. The increase of the heat in the desert has meant that the rate of water evaporation has also increased and this has created a situation where life in this environment has become unsustainable (Lelieveld et al, 2012). The plant life that depended on this scarce resource to survive now has less of an opportunity to survive because of the high rates of evaporation. Furthermore, the creatures that depended on these plants for survival have also come to reduce in number because there are not enough of the plants available to sustain them. Human activities in the Middle East have, therefore, created a situation where the natural ecosystems have come to die away slowly as they attempt to gain a profit from the natural resources available. It has become the norm for the human population in the region to move to the urban areas in search for a better life. This is because of the fact that the increasing heat in the desert has made life unbearable and the traditional, nomadic way of life has become unsustainable (Mann, 2002). The urban areas have now become the places where they can live comfortably due to the modern appliances that are available. The nomadic way of life, which was more in harmony with the environment, has largely been abandoned and this has created a situation where it is difficult to maintain the natural environment as multinational corporations move into the seemingly abandoned areas to prospect for oil. The natural systems are, therefore, being slowly destroyed with very little being done to stop their destruction either by the governments involved or by their business partners (Smith, 1999). The population of the Middle East is currently largely concentrated in the urban areas and this has created a situation where the likelihood of pollution of all types has become a reality. The burning of fossil fuels in such concentrated areas as the cities has led to high levels of air pollution, which has come to affect the natural systems that are close to these cities (Najjar, 2008). The pollution of air has not only caused related diseases in human beings, but it has also done so in animals, which have been exposed to this polluted air. While the diseases can be easily diagnosed among human beings and treated, in animals living in the wild, this is impossible and it has in fact led to the reduction of these animals to a level that can be considered near extinction (Yeatts et al, 2012). While the numbers are not currently known, this senseless destruction of animal life has come to destroy the various natural systems, which depend on the significant numbers of these animals to remain sustainable (Tourenq & Launay, 2008). The destruction of such systems means that entire habitats are at risk of either leading to the extinction of certain species of both plants and animals, or the possibility of these habitats becoming unpredictable. This would create a situation where certain species of plants or animals would be able to gain an advantage over others as some parts of the food chain will be removed, enabling the population of some to increase at the expense of others. The rapid human population growth in the Middle East has come to affect the natural systems available, especially those that deal with water. Historically, the Middle East is known as a place which has had extremely little water resources and because of the rare occurrences of rainfall, it is difficult to have a steady replenishing of the water supply (Seymour, 2009). The population growth of this region is putting an immense strain on the available water resources as the demand for this commodity continues to increase by the day. It has also led to a belief within the scientific community that if something is not done to ensure the security of this resource, then the Middle East is in danger of falling into a situation akin to famine, where the entire population as well as the natural systems involved are likely to fail. The insatiable need for water is slowly but surely depleting this resource and there is a fear that it may lead to a shortage in the food supply of the region. Such a shortage is likely to create a situation where there may develop political instability in the region, and as is well known, such occurrences tend to lead to conflicts which have the potential of further worsening the environmental situation (Morrissette & Borer, 2004). The shortage of water will probably be caused by nations that fail to cooperate in the equitable allocation of the water resources they share, since they continue to behave more as rivals than as partners when this precious resource is concerned and this is likely to lead to future conflict (Kibaroglu, 2008). Another part of the natural systems in the Middle East that has been affected by human activity has been the marine environment, which has increased significantly over the last century. The coastal engineering projects that have been put in place by either the governments or private interests of the Middle East have contributed an immense deal in the changing or damaging of the marine natural systems. In addition, there has been increased shipping in the Middle East due to the development of the oil industry, as well as the increased purchasing power of many Middle Eastern states. The ships which sail along the coast of this region tend to bring about plenty of pollution since the fumes they emit as well as the oil that is spilled into the oceans come to affect the marine life of the Middle East. This has come to change the marine ecosystems in the places affected as some marine life have either had to move away from their natural habitats which have become inhospitable, or others have been destroyed. The marine environment of the Middle East has also come to be affected, in recent times, by the development of desalination plants for the purposes of providing fresh water for the region’s population (Sowers, Vengosh & Weinthal, 2011). While these plants are good for the people because they allow them to have fresh water, they have a disastrous impact on the marine ecosystem of the region. A lot of energy is used during the desalination process and this naturally leads to the emission of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere (Burtka, 2004). Furthermore, the salt which is the end product of the desalination process is dumped back into the sea; it has a massive environmental impact on marine life because it creates a situation where the salt concentration in the water is doubled. The increased salt concentration in the seawater has the potential of killing many marine organisms and it is possible that it can also cause damage to the marine population. In conclusion, human beings have indeed had quite an impact on the natural systems of the Middle East as they have attempted to adapt to their environment. In order to be able to live comfortably, human beings have made advances both in their social lives and technologically. These, however, while succeeding in their goal of providing comfort have also taken a toll on the natural systems in the region. Throughout the ages, livestock have been reared to provide sustenance but in this region, they have also led to the rapid desertification of certain areas as they have ended up stripping away the plant cover. Moreover, in modern times, humans have developed desalination plants, as well as oil wells so that they can get fresh water and satisfy the demand for oil respectively. While both of these ventures have been highly profitable, this profit has come at the expense of the natural environment as in some places, whole ecosystems have been destroyed. The concentration of the human population in the urban areas has led to an increase in the pollution levels that have had an impact on the natural systems that exist near them, or those in areas where the resources needed to supply the cities are found. Therefore, it can be said that human beings have had a significant impact on the natural systems of these region. References Bocco, R., & Jaubert, R. (1994). The return of the Bedouin. 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