Water issues and conflict in the Middle East

1. Water issues and conflict in the Middle East “If we solve every other problem in the Middle East but do not satisfactorily resolve the water problem, our region will explode.” (Yitzhak Rabin in Klare 2001: 141)

2. Water and War • “The next war in the Middle East will be over water, not politics.” (Boutros Boutros-Ghali, Secretary General, United Nations) • “The only matter that could take Egypt to war again is water.” (Anwar Sadat, President of Egypt) • “Water is the one issue that could drive nations of the region to war.” (King Hussein, Jordan) • “Many of the wars in this century were about oil, but wars of the next century will be about water.”(Ismail Serageldin, Vice President, World Bank)

3. Water and Conflict • Water is not distributed uniformly around the globe, and has been a source of tension wherever water resources are shared by neighboring peoples. • Globally, there are more than 250 water bodies shared by more than one country.

4. WATER - A RENEWABLE OR FINITE RESOURCE? • Water is critical for life, food production, and industrial processes. • 9 out of 14 Southwest Asian states face water-short conditions(the most concentrated region of scarcity in the world).

5. Water Supply • Southwest Asian countries often get into disputes over their policies on water rights and other natural resources. • Water rights are agreements about how countries can use the water in a region. • Water rights often cause political disputes.

6. Facts about water and water scarcity in the ME • According to the World Bank the amount one human needs in order to remain alive and healthy is 100 to 200 litres per day! • Less than 3 percent of world’s overall water is fresh water, less than 1 percent of the fresh water supply is accessible to humans. • World Bank: Eleven countries in the ME have annual per capita supplies at or less than 100 cubic meters:   • Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Libya, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen

7. Water Issues in the Middle East • WATER • Only 3 countries in the Middle East do not need to depend on outside fresh water: • Iran, Egypt, and Turkey • 2/3 of the Middle East depend on water from outside their borders • Jordan is one of the most water scarce countries in the world. One of the 504 dams in Turkey

8. Water Issues in the Middle East: • >90% of population growth will be in developing countries where clean water supplies are low. • Nine countries in the Middle East use >100% of their renewable water supply (depleting groundwater). • Egypt depends entirely on the Nile to irrigate crops. Ethopia controls 80% of Nile’s flow upstream and plans to divert water for itself. Could be catastrophic for Egypt.

9. Water Situation • Saudi Arabia, have almost no water. • They are mostly made up of desert. • Iran has areas with access to rivers and areas that are made up of deserts. • Because water is in short supply in so many parts of Southwest Asia, irrigation has been necessary for those who want to farm and raise animals for market. • People must live where there is water.

10. North Africa / Middle East, Mean Annual Precipitation (mm) Sahara

11. Fresh Groundwater Sources

12. Water Pollution

13. Water Pollution in the Middle East • There are many serious environmental problems in the Middle East. • The water supply is very limited and finding fresh water for farming or drinking is a struggle throughout the region. • Israel has very few fresh water sources and the Sea of Galilee provides its primary supply of drinking water.

14. Water Pollution in the Middle East • Water pollution caused by oil spills from drilling, refineries and shipping sometimes leak into rivers and water supplies. • This impact irrigation and drinking water because it causes health hazards. • Some countries are adjusting/adapting to the limited amount of water resources available by building desalination facilities to remove salt from salt water.

15. Pollution • The process of refining oil also creates pollution. • Refining oil means making oil from the ground ready to use in machines. • Refining oil produces toxic chemicals. • This is an enormous problem for the environment in the Southwest Asia.

16. What are the sanitation and health impacts of limited water supplies? • Over a billion people today lack access to clean drinking water in the developing world, and nearly 2.5 billion lack access to adequate sanitation services. • These numbers will grow in the years ahead. • Water-related diseases are a growing human tragedy, killing more than 5 million people each year.

17. Sanitation and health impacts of limited water supplies (continued) • Every day, easily prevented diarrheal diseases cause some 6,000 deaths, mostly children under 5. • Diarrheal diseases have killed more children in the past 10 years than all the people lost to armed conflict since World War II. • About 60 million children annually reach maturity stunted due to severe nutrient loss and complications from multiple diarrheal episodes.

18. Examples of Conflicts over Water

19. Water conflicts in the past • Destruction of Babylonian irrigation systems as retribution by Assyrians Modern period: • Fashoda Crisis in southern Sudan in 1898 between France and Britain • Water conflicts during Cold War • Arab-Israeli War of 1967 (control over river Jordan) • Syria and Iraq almost went to war in 1975 (Syria filled up Lake Assad, and reduced flow of Euphrates River) • 1990 Turkey blocked flow of Euphrates to fill up its own reservoirs

20. Hydropolitics and geopolitics Political negotiations centred on conflicts over the shared use of water sources • History of hydropolitics in Nile Basin • tensions due to the dominance of Egypt • civil wars in Sudan Ethiopia • tensions from Egypt’s treaties dating back to the 1929 and 1959 Nile Water Agreements. • Upstream states increasingly challenging Egypt’s dominance. • Ethiopia wants to use the Nile River for HEP plants and industrial development. • The Nile is the world’s longest river , 6,500kms, 2.9km2 catchment,10% of Africa, running through 10 countries with 360 million people depending on it for survival. • Growing issues of desertification & salination and increased evaporation linked to climate change • About 85 % water originates from Eritrea and Ethiopia, but 94 % is used by Sudan and Egypt. Evidence of more effective co-operation • The Nile Basin Initiative, system of cooperative management which started late 1990s • All countries except Eritrea working with The World Bank and bi-lateral aid donors . • Community level involvement . • Managers visited Colorado River recently to see how effectively the 1922 River Water Compact and its ‘law of the river’ works Tech Fix ; The megaprojects of dams like Aswan are famous. Latest high tech is the 1990sproject called ‘Tecconile’ a joint GIS system to help monitor and plan the basin • 1996 Helsinki Rules on the Uses of the Waters of International Rivers - regulating how transboundary rivers and groundwater are managed • The Nile Basin is an example that ‘Water Wars’ may be averted

21. Water issues in the Middle East In the Northern region: Turkey is in dispute with Syria and Iraq over damming more of the Tigris and Euphrates river The Aral Sea, on the boundary of the Middle East and Asia is suffering from over abstraction and pollution • There are significant disputes over access to water already in this area • The combination of a growing population and low seasonal rainfall are the main causes. • Is the energy dependent technological fix of desalination the answer? • Photo of a plant in Dubai In the Western Region: Israelis, Syrians, Jordanians and Lebanese are all in dispute over shrinking water supplies A contributory factor to the 1967 Arab-Israeli war Water storage is in 3 huge aquifers under the Israeli mountains and coastal strip and the R Jordan

22. Conflict over the Tigris and Euphrates River

23. Euphrates River • The Euphrates River flows through Turkey, Syria, and Iraq. • These countries all rely on the Euphrates for farming and for electricity. • The river begins in Turkey and flows to the Persian Gulf. • Turkey built two dams on the Euphrates in 1984 to harness its power for electricity.

24. Conflict over the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers • The Euphrates and Tigris provides water for much of Syria and Iraq however, they begin in Turkey. • Turkey has been trying to build hydroelectric dams which would reduce the water supply to the other 2 countries. • Syria built its own dams in response cutting off even more water to Iraq.

25. Dam Buiding • These dams make the river less powerful. Syria also built a dam on the Euphrates. • By the time the river reaches Iraq, it is much smaller and less powerful than it was originally. • Water supply in Iraq is also diminished and farming is very difficult. • In 1975, a war almost broke out between Syria and Iraq over water rights.

26. Fresh water supplies are available only in small amounts • Dams are very controversial in this region as they affect multiple countries at once.

27. Water Conflict between Israel and Jordan

28. Conflict Between Israel and Jordan over Water Supplies • The Jordan River is the major source of water for both Israel and Jordan • Early 1950s:Israel wanted to cultivate additional desert land -> built a new pipeline to bring water from the Jordan River to the Negev Desert • Called the National Water Carrier, an integrated network of pumping stations, reservoirs, canals and pipelines • Pipelines became the central water supply for Israel but pipeline was a threat to Jordan’s water supply Nancy Tay

29. Conflict Between Israel and Jordan over Water Supplies • Downstream users in Jordan could not get the water they needed • Border clashes between Jordan and Israel • 1967 Israeli – Jordanian War • Israel won and occupied the Golan Heights Israel also • Gained complete control of the Upper Jordan River • Jordan could not tap as much water from the Jordan River • Critical shortage of water in Jordan Nancy Tay

30. Conflict Between Israel and Jordan over Water Supplies Israel also • Destroyed a dam Jordan was constructing on the Yarmouk River during the war • Diverted large amounts of water from the Yarmouk River into Lake Tiberias • Obstructed all attempts by Jordan to build a water storage system to improve its water supply Nancy Tay

31. Conflict Between Israel and Jordan over Water Supplies Golan Heights Yarmouk River Lake Tiberias Nancy Tay

32. Conflict Between Israel and Jordan over Water Supplies Steps Taken and Results • Jordan and Israel signed a peace treaty • Both agree to share the Jordan River and provide each other with water • Both agree to build dams and create storage facilities to hold excess rainwater Nancy Tay

33. Water Issues Between the Israelis and Palestinians

36. Israel, Jordan, and the Palestinians • Israel, Jordan, and the Palestinians on the West Bank, all depend on many of the same scarce water resources. • Israel has the most power, so it has been most effective in claiming water. • Much Israeli water is also cleaned after it is used once, and is then reused. • Ways have to be found to make sure that everyone has access to enough water.

37. Equitable Distribution • River Jordan (Israel 100%; Palestine 0%) • Coastal Aquifer (Israel 82%; Palestine 18%) 3. Mountain Aquifer (Israel 83%; Palestine 17%) 4. Other Sources (Israel 100%; Palestine 0%) Per capita consumption(1994) Israelis        344m3/yr Palestinians     93m3/yr Israelis consume (4 x more) per head

38. Water for Palestinian Israelis • In Israel itself 90,000 Palestinian Israeli citizens live in unrecognised villages. • Although these villages often pre-date the establishment of the state of Israel, Israel refuses to recognise their existence and consequently denies them all municipal services – water, electricity, health care, education, etc. • In addition the land they are built on is zoned for Jewish only settlement so their homes are subject to demolition.

39. Permits for Wells In 1967 - 140 Palestinian wells were destroyed. As 227,500 Palestinians have no access to piped water and a further 190,000 have only limited access (B’Tselem) wells are frequently vital for communities survival. Permits for new wells can go through up to 18stages of approval. A permit is required to use your ownwell. Having a permit to use your well doesnot assure access to it Between 1967 and 1996 a total of 13permits were given to Palestinians. Allwere for domestic use only, not a singleagricultural well! "A pattern starts toemerge where itappears that the Israelis are deliberately trying to sabotage Palestinian efforts to both access and fully develop their water resources,“ (Oxfam).

40. Permits: Wastewater More than 90 % of all West Bank wastewater is untreated, only 1 plant is operating. Only one in five Palestinianfamilies in West Bank areconnected to sewage systems. 69 % use outdatedseptic tanks (oftenprohibitively expensive to maintain and empty). Several construction permits are required to build a new tank. The German government has repeatedly offered to build fully funded sewage treatment facilities in the West Bank, only for Israel to block their proposal. “Palestine’s capacity to treat wastewater has beensystematically retarded by Israel,” (The World Bank).

41. West Bank Barrier and Water Issues

42. West Bank Water Pollution 91 mcm of wastewater is discharged annuallyinto the West Bank, 38% from Israeli sources. Jerusalem pipes half of its 35 mcm to the east,creating the raw sewagenightmare ofWadi Kadrun. 40settlements east of the Green Lineare notconnected to any waste waterfacility. Others do not function and spill excrement onto the Palestinianvillages below them. “There is no real life there - it is just waste water,” Iyad Aburdeieneh, Palestinian Deputy Director of Friends of the Earth Middle East.

43. Settler Water Use Settlers consume 10 % of allWestBank water; 95% of settler use is agricultural. Palestinian private and domestic use totals 63m3/yr. Recent figures suggest settlers use could be as much as 800m3/yr.

44. West Bank Settlements All settlements are illegal under International Humanitarian Law. Settlements are generally built on hills close to or upon the best wells and water supply. Lands settlements are built upon are ‘re-designated’ as state lands allowing for new wells to be drilled. The impenetrable permit system only applies to Palestinians.

45. West Bank Aquifer aka Mountain Aquifer WESTERN BASIN • largest and most abundant • lies in Israel and part of West Bank but it is recharged by precipitation that falls in West Bank • historically used by Palestinians, then with Jewish migration into Palestine at end of 19th century, water became shared • 1920s/30s intensive exploitation of resources by Jewish settlers which was then promoted further by Israel between 1948 and 1967 • This continued after Six Days War and now more than 90% of basin used by Israel

46. West Bank Aquifer NORTH-EASTERN BASIN • Also considered to be transboundary EASTERN BASIN • Lies entirely within the West Bank • Used exclusively by Palestinian farmers and villagers until 1967

47. Mountain Aquifer Water Use Israelis             73% Palestinians          17% Illegal Israeli settlers     10% The daily per capita consumption in Israel is 242 liters in urban areas and 211 liters in rural communities (in 2007). By comparison, the consumption in the West Bank is 73 liters per person (in 2008). In certain districts, consumption was as low as 37 liters (Tubas District), 44 (Jenin District), and 56 (Hebron District). (B’Tselem (2010). According to the PalestinianHydrologyGroup, (2003) 7% of communities subsist on 30 litres/dayor less and 36% of communities subsist on between 30and 50 litres/day. The World Health Organisation recommended minimum is 100 litres/day Similarly in Israel around 95% of irrigable land is irrigated. In the West Bank the figure is only 25-33%. (Philip Mattar: Encyclopedia of the Palestinians).

48. West Bank Aquifer • Hydrological matters additional dimension to conflict • Water resources often coincide with disputed land and are transboundary in nature e.g Israel receives more than 50% its water from Arab territories • Emerged mainly since 1960s • After 1967 war (water one of issues to initiate war) Israeli policies and institutions extended to occupied territories

49. West Bank Aquifer • Now, Israel using nearly 80% of West Bank waters. • Palestinian plight further compounded by fact they are forced to pay higher rates for their water supply • Huge discrepancies between water allocated to Palestinians and Israelis • Also further tension due to Palestine’s claims to share of Jordan river

50. West Bank Aquifer • Water needed for domestic use but also vital for agriculture • 80% of water resources assigned to irrigation of crops in Israel and West Bank • Agriculture represents 25% of Palestinian GDP. • In Israel agriculture is 4% BUT per capita, Israel uses 4 times more water than Palestine annually