UNIT 7: SOUTHWEST ASIA

1. UNIT 7: SOUTHWEST ASIA ECONOMIC ACTIVITY

2. Economic Activities • The majority of activities that take place in this region are nomadic herding and subsistence agriculture. • Fishing in the waters of the Mediterranean Sea, Caspian Sea and the Persian Gulf are also a good source of income. • Because of the arid land, there is very little income from commercial farming and forestry.

3. Economic Activities • Aside from the activities listed, the real source of income for the majority of this region is based on its abundance of petroleum which is refined into oil. • One-half of the world’s oil reserves are found in this region and many countries including the United States, depend on is supply.

4. OTHER MAJOR RESOURCES • Other important resources that have an impact on the economy of the region are: • OIL • Chromium • Coal • Copper • Hydroelectric power • Iron ore • Lead • Natural gas • Petroleum • Phosphate

5. HYDROELECTRIC POWER • The most valuable resource in some parts of this region such as Turkey, Iran, Lebanon, and Afghanistan is water. • Its main function is to provide water powered electricity as well as serve as a source of freshwater.

6. PROVIDING PRECIOUS WATER • DAMS AND IRRIGATION SYSTEMS: • Turkey is building a series of dams and man-made lakes on the upper Euphrates River. • While they will provide water and hydroelectricity for parts of the country, it restricts water flow for countries downstream. • NATIONAL WATER CARRIER PROJECT: • Israel has found a way to carry water from the northern part of the country to sites in its center and southern locations. • It is a source of an international conflict because the source of the water flows through several countries and the access is restricted.

7. MODERN WATER TECHNOLOGY • Drip irrigation is a practice of using small pipes that slowly drip water just above ground to conserve water used for crops. • Desalinization or the removal of salt from ocean water and the treatment of wastewater are also other alternatives to seeking much needed water. While too salty for irrigation it serves a great purpose in sewage systems. • Fossil water is another method of extracting ground water from aquifers. However, this source of water has very little chance of being replaced due to inadequate rainfall. • Irrigation canals are also quite popular and are carefully maintained to provide water for crops.

9. AN OIL-RICH REGION • Major oil fields are located in the Arabian Peninsula, Iran and Iraq. • Most of the oil reserves are found along the coast of the Persian Gulf. • Having these huge reserves makes Southwest Asia a very important region. • Largest oil field was discovered in 1948 at al-Ghawar.

10. FORMING PETROLEUM • Since algal blooms are often toxic to animal life in the water body, it is reasonable to assume that at least some of the oil comes from animal remains. Next the dead matter is covered with silt and mud.This silt and mud eventually compresses into rock, leaving the organic material trapped between two layers of rock. • As more silt and mud is laid down, more layers of rock are added on top of the organic matter layer. Volcanic activity may also be adding extra layers of rock on top of the organic layer. • This is taking millions and millions of years. The extra weight of the rock as well as some heating from beneath the crust of the earth are helping to drive water out of the oil-to-be

11. A non porous rock is a rock which has interlocking grains so water can't get into it. A porous rock is like a sponge and a non porous rock is like a stone. • A barrier of nonporous rocks prevents the oil and gas from moving out of the rock which is why a sophisticated system was put in place to carefully extract the oil. • It takes technical skill and special equipment to find deposits of oil.

13. TRANSPORTING OIL • Petroleum that has not been processed is called crude oil. • Once crude oil is pumped from the ground, it must be moved to a refinery where it is converted into useful products. • The Persian Gulf, Red and Mediterranean Sea are major ports for oil shipping. • There are always risks involved when moving oil: • Largest oil spill was in 1991 of the coast of Kuwait, more than 240 million gallons were spilled into the water and land. • Ocean-going tankers cause great pollution when transporting oil. • Buried pipelines which transport oil are also prone to leaks.

14. REGIONAL ECONOMICS Arabian Peninsula Eastern Mediterranean Northeast

15. ARABIAN PENINSULA • Principal resource is oil; money made off of oil used for development of other parts of their economies, especially water development projects. • OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries)- formed to help members control worldwide oil prices by adjusting oil prices and production quotas. Southwest Asian Members are: • Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Iran and Iraq

17. ARABIAN PENINSULA • About 70 percent of the population now live in cities. • As the economy switched to providing petroleum and petroleum products, more people left the rural areas and the types of jobs changed as well. (Push and Pull Factors) • There is now a great demand for literate people with technical skills and because people living in the region lack these qualifications, foreign workers were brought in to work at jobs the natives could not fill.

18. EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN • The nations of this region are relatively young and face many economic problems such as political divisions, refugees, lack of water, and a weak infrastructure. • Refugees: the creation of Israel produced a large number of Palestinian refugees which are scattered throughout many countries in the region. Most are unemployed and are a strain on the economy because there is not enough adequate shelter or food. • Civil Wars: conflicts in Lebanon and Cyprus have disabled their countries economies.

19. EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN • All of the nations have a great potential for development. • The climate provides for great turnout of citrus crops and tourist attractions. • The only setback is the poor infrastructure such as rebuilt roads and irrigation systems as well as better communication and power sources. • One development has been the computer software industry in Israel.

20. NORTHEAST • With limited agricultural land in this region they depend on oil or natural gas resources to generate revenue. This money is used to update and expand transportation and communication systems, power and water and sanitation plants. • Turkey: is developing its water resources and hydroelectric plants to boost production of cotton and other agricultural products. • Iran: is struggling due to changes in its government and war with Iraq. Oil money fuels most of the economic changes that are in the process.

21. NORTHEAST • Iraq: after fighting a ten year war with Iran and invading Kuwait and causing the Persian Gulf War, was placed under and economic embargo on oil sales by the UN. As a result, the people have lacked basic goods such as food and medicine. • Afghanistan: is one of the poorest nations on earth. Its economy is solely based on subsistence agriculture and animal herding. Landlocked, it lacks an infrastructure to transport goods from one place to another and the government in control has rejected efforts to modernize.