Water shortage in place of Abundance - Assignment Example

?Running Head: Water Shortage in place of Abundance Water Shortage in place of Abundance [Institute’s Table of Contents Introduction 3 Statement of the problem 4 Research Goals 4 Methodology 5 Discussion of the Results 6 Recommendations 10 References 12 Introduction Water has been always scarce in the Middle East from the earliest recorded human civilizations in this region. However, over the past few decades, the problem of water shortage has escalated to great levels in the region and now it has been an issue of strategic importance since it is affecting their domestic stability and, in turn, foreign policy and domestic stability. Despite the fact that the Middle Eastern region represents almost 6 percent of the total world’s population, the region only owns less than 1 percent of the world’s overall water resources. In fact, statistics reveal that the demand for desalinated water is growing at an average annual rate of over 7 percent in the Middle Eastern countries which almost the double of the global average (Earle, Jagerskog & Ojendal, pp. 103-104, 2010). Poverty, mass unemployment, political suppression, injustice, inflation and others were cited as the major reasons behind the recent revolutions and revolts in the Middle East, however, a less cited but extremely important reasons behind the turmoil in Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen, Algeria, Syria and others countries, is the rising food prices caused by the water shortage. Many studies by other NGOs, political and international organisations have repeatedly identified that the region would be suffering with severe water crisis in the coming decades. Growing population (World Bank predicts that the population would be more than 600 million in the next couple of decades), rising temperatures and political instability is like a dynamite in the region which will burst will only a little spark (Shuval & Dwiek, pp. 147-149, 2007). Many of the autocratic rulers of oil-rich Middle Eastern countries have been able to put a lid on this turmoil by using their wealth from oil to subsidized food prices and import grains and sell them for cheap prices in the country, however, it appears that this pattern will not last for long (Holst-Warhaft & Steenhuis, pp. 238-239, 2010). Quite understandably, one obvious reason for water shortage in the Middle Eastern countries is the recent increase in demand in these countries. Lately, these countries have shown almost impeccable economic growth that has stunned its critics. State of the art buildings, skyscrapers, modern infrastructure, facilities with the latest technologies and abundant job opportunities are attracting many people from different Asian countries to try their luck in these Middle Eastern countries (Shuval & Dwiek, pp. 147-149, 2007). Algeria, Morocco, Iran, Iraq, Tunisia, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, Yemen, Jordan, Israel and Libya are all running in water deficits and according to the recent Water Stress Index, all of these countries have been identified with “extreme risk”. Turkey is the only country that has water surplus in the region but up until this point is not willing to share its resources. Libya is spending 20 billion US dollars every year to use its deep-water reserves. UAE has expressed his tensions as all of his water reserves being derived from ancient fossils fuels will run out in less than four decades (Raouf, pp. 5-10, 2010). Statement of the problem Therefore, the statement of problem or the research question for this particular study would be as follows: - “To explore short term and long term solutions for the problem of water shortage in various Middle Eastern countries” Research Goals Following are the research goals of this particular research. To shed light on the causes and reasons behind water shortage and scarcity in the Middle Eastern region To explore and evaluate the possible short term solutions for solving the problem of water shortage in the Middle Eastern Region To explore and evaluate the possible long term solutions for solving the problem of water shortage in the Middle Eastern Region Methodology There are no doubts in the fact that methodology of any research determines the level of authenticity or credibility that could be assigned to that study. This study relied heavily on secondary data sources, rather than primary data sources. These were books, journal articles, published researches, newspaper articles, government publications and others. There were several reasons for sticking to the secondary sources. First, the level of depth of analysis needed for this research could only be provided through going through the opinions of the experts and authorities in the field of study. Second, the limitations in terms of financial resources and time did not allow the researcher to engage in primary research. Third, in this particular case, secondary data provide more insightful and better information since the sample, the population is not well defined, and the resources required to conduct this magnitude of a research are not available at the disposal of any individual researcher. Furthermore, most of the data is qualitative in nature, thus, exposing the research to high degree of subjectivity. This is also acceptable because the underlying research philosophy being used here is that of Intrepretivism, which endorses the belief that opinions are subjective, and in order to uncover the full reality one has to take into consideration many other situational factors as well. Discussion of the Results Almost all experts regardless of their background agree to the fact that there is no possible way to solve the problem of water shortage or scarcity if countries continue to operate as different entities. This is a serious problem, which is being faced by the entire region of extended Middle East and not by a few regions. One might say that the magnitude of the problem for certain countries might be different but they all are well aware of the fact that sooner of latter, this water crisis will bring a disaster for their people (Selby, pp. 334-339, 2005). Therefore, the governments and the heads of these Middle Eastern countries should sit together and whatever master plan they devise should take place with the cooperation and support of all countries. The blame game that has been going on for quite some while, for example that of the drought in Iraq has been blamed on the upstream dams of Turkey and Syria, the conflict between Palestine and Israel, Jordan and Israel and others, has to stop and all these countries need to focus their efforts and extend their full cooperation for securing the future of the coming generations (Earle, Jagerskog & Ojendal, pp. 103-104, 2010). One recommendation, although, some regions might require significant homework for the implementation of the same, is to divert all the resources used in agriculture in the rural areas of the Middle Eastern countries and use those water resources to fulfil the demands of the rural sector. This makes sense because most of these countries now depend on the urban areas and sectors for the production of a huge chunk of their GDP and employment (Tal & Rabbo, pp. 36-37, 2010; Selby, pp. 334-339, 2005). Therefore, fulfilling their requirements first, in order to keep the economy healthy and strong makes more sense. However, then again, diverting a significant amount of water resource from the rural areas might have a strong reaction from the side of the local people. Political parties and influential groups of those areas might try to win the sympathies of the people while being anti government and in worst cases, people of those areas might stand up protest and try to put barriers in the way of the government (Trondalen, International Hydrological Programme, UNESCO & Compass Foundation, pp. 85-86, 2008). Nevertheless, it might initiate a new wave or urbanisation as people might migrate in great numbers from rural areas to the urban areas thus putting even more pressure and strain over the water resources. As mentioned earlier, this option might not applicable in all regions and its applicability is subject to great deal of homework and preparation (Shuval & Dwiek, pp. 147-149, 2007). However, another option could be of discouraging the farmers from growing crops that consume a great deal of water such as cereals and divert them to other crops such as citrus, grapes, olives, cucumber, squash and others. Furthermore, the authorities should also help them in selling those other crops in the market or even in the international market so that they could be encouraged to continue the practice (Holst-Warhaft & Steenhuis, pp. 238-239, 2010). Another short-term strategy could be to import water from neighbouring countries or countries that are surrounded by oceans and trade of transport it to certain regions that are in dire needs of water through pipes, trucks and other possible means. However, important here to note is the fact that this strategy is only viable in the short term or may be a maximum of three years until the stakeholders come up with a long-term strategy to solve this problem. The prime reason of not using this as a long-term strategy is that water transportation from one region to another may be disastrous in terms of its effects on the geography, hydrology and local ecosystems of the regions (Tal & Rabbo, pp. 36-37, 2010). At the same time, there is significant evidence to believe that the rich and powerful people in these Middle Eastern countries and even the people from the upper middle class continue to waste plenty of water everyday thus increasing its shortage. In fact, research reveals that countries such as Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and UAE, which provide water free, have the highest water usage per person than anywhere else in the world thus indicating severe water wastage patterns (Raouf, pp. 5-10, 2010). Therefore, a campaign needs to be launched with the help of the opinion leaders, celebrities, political leaders and most importantly, religious leaders in order to urge people regardless of their background, status and wealth to use water carefully. In order to obtain a long term solution, a comprehensive campaign should be started in the schools in order to appeal to the children and explain them the hazards of wasting water and how saving water is the need of time (Tal & Rabbo, pp. 36-37, 2010). Furthermore, through these campaigns, the governments and authorities should encourage the use of Low-flush toilets, composting toilets, dual flush toilets, re-use of gray water, Faucet aerators and other such equipments and tools to save water. They might not save huge quantities of water but when used by a huge population, these equipments will significantly reduce the water consumption. Not only these children would remain instrumental in urging their parents for the same but at the same time, when they grow up, these countries will have a better aware and responsible generation (Trondalen, International Hydrological Programme, UNESCO & Compass Foundation, pp. 85-86, 2008). Another viable solution used all around the world is the use of renewable and green energy solution for electricity and power generation. Since a significant chunk of water is needed for the purposes of power generation, if, somehow, the Middle Eastern countries succeed in diverting the power generation to solar and wind energy, then they would be able to lower the demand and save more water for household, agricultural and other purposes. There are no doubts in the fact that most of the Middle Eastern countries are just perfect for generation of solar and wind energy (Raouf, pp. 5-10, 2010). These areas receive abundant sunshine for 365 days a year and due to vast deserts, plains and fields, the wind pressure is significant enough to develop wind energy. Jordan and Saudi Arabia are the two most efficient countries in the Middle East in this regard, in the former, more than 20 percent of the people are using solar water heaters, and the latter has made huge investments in the field of solar and wind energy, which will soon start generating returns. More importantly, this will also allow these Middle Eastern countries to decrease their dependence on oil and other fuels for power generation which has been forcing the international community to question the sincerity and commitment of many oil rich Middle Eastern countries towards saving the planet and undertaking green initiatives (Glass, pp. 24-30, 2010). United Arab Emirates is the only country from the Middle Eastern region that is a part of the Green Building Council (GBC), which has shown its commitment towards green, environmental friendly, efficient in water consumption and maintaining high indoor quality environment buildings, also known as “green buildings”. There are many features associated with green buildings that reduce the overall usage of water in these buildings. The structure of the building is such that much of the water is reused and reprocessed through point-of-use water treatment and other methods, the building remains relatively cool thus reducing the use of air conditioners and more light during daytime even further reduces energy requirements (Raouf, pp. 5-10, 2010; Selby, pp. 334-339, 2005). At least, countries such as Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait and others which have high income levels should invest more in the creation of more green buildings as an attempt to save more energy. Furthermore, UAE has also been working on District Cooling Plants which can cool particular localities with 40 percent less energy and also saves the cost of installation and repair of separate air conditioners in each household (Earle, Jagerskog & Ojendal, pp. 103-104, 2010). Middle Eastern countries could learn greatly from the Israeli model of sequential water use where the government has creative effective mechanisms to ensure that the water already used from one sector could be reused for another sector with minimal costs. For example, fresh and purified water first reaches homes and households since water required for domestic purposes has to be the cleanest (Selby, pp. 334-339, 2005). The gray water from households could be then sent to industries and then to farms. Furthermore, waste-water from urban households, containing human waste, also known as brown water can be pumped to fields and farms for the purpose of agriculture since that would not only increase the crop yield but also decreases the need for fertilizer (Trondalen, International Hydrological Programme, UNESCO & Compass Foundation, pp. 85-86, 2008). Recommendations To develop a common and strong platform for all the Middle Eastern countries to work together with harmony for the solution of this problem and involve all relevant stakeholders and their representatives in the process of dialogue Trade water from neighbouring countries or transport water from rivers, seas and oceans Initiate mass campaigns to save water in Middle Eastern countries with the support of religious leaders and encourage the use of water efficient equipments of domestic use such as Low-flush toilets, composting toilets, dual flush toilets, re-use of gray water, Faucet aerators and others Invest heavily in the creation of “Green buildings” and small district cooling units Increase the use of solar and wind energy for meeting the domestic requirements of energy Divert scarce water resources from rural areas to urban areas or encourage the farmers to quit growing crops with high water requirements and move to crops like citrus, grapes, olives, cucumber, squash and others which require 10-40 percent less water. Middle Eastern countries should aggressively engage in sequential water use so that the same water could be used to satisfy the needs of many sectors. References Earle, Anton, Jagerskog, Anders, & Ojendal, Joakim. Transboundary Water Management: Principles and Practice. Earthscan. 2010. Print. Glass, Nicole. The Water Crisis in Yemen: Causes, Consequences and Solutions. Global Majority E-Journal, Vol. 1, No. 1 (June 2010), pp. 17-30. Print. Holst-Warhaft, Gail, & Steenhuis, Tammo S. Losing paradise: the water crisis in the Mediterranean. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. 2010. Print. Raouf, Mohamed A. Water Issues in the Gulf: Time for Action. The Middle East Institute Policy Brief. No 22. January 2010. pp. 5-15. Print. Selby, Jan. The Geopolitics of Water in the Middle East: fantasies and realities. Third World Quarterly, Vol. 26, No. 2, pp 329 – 349, 2005. Print. Shuval, Hillel I., & Dwiek, Hassan. Water resources in the Middle East: the Israeli-Palestinian water issues: from conflict to cooperation. Springer. 2007. Print. Tal, Alon, & Rabbo, Alfred Abed. Water wisdom: preparing the groundwork for cooperative and sustainable water management in the Middle East. Rutgers University Press. 2010. Print. Trondalen, Jon Martin, International Hydrological Programme, UNESCO & Compass Foundation (Geneva, Switzerland). Water and peace for the people: possible solutions to water disputes in the Middle East. UNESCO. 2008. Print. Read More