Water is the main source of life on the Earth. It is vital for normal existence and functioning of organisms. Earth is sometimes called “water planet.” But, in fact, the number of freshwater is limited. “Only about 2 percent of the planet's water is fresh.” (How much water is there on Earth?) This water is not enough even to meet daily needs of mankind. According to World Health Organization, “a lack of water to meet daily needs is a reality today for one in three people around the world.” (2009) In the Middle East the situation is especially hard. This region is thought to be one of the droughtiest places in the world, most of it’s territory is deserted. Freshwater accounts to 1 percent of the world’s supplies, while the population comes …show more content…
Incredible water shortage in the Middle East region has compelled countries to reuse this water for many purposes. Treated wastewater can be used in agriculture, industry, recharging aquifers (Middle East Water Shortage). This method leads to conservation of traditional sources of water which further can be used “for meeting the demand for higher-quality water such as that for drinking, or for high value-added industrial and agricultural uses.” Also the climate fickleness’ influence will lessen by means of reuse. But there are few problems connected with leading treatment into usage. One of them are health and environmental risks (Baroudy 2005, 25-35). Purified in such way water contains bacteria, viruses and parasites (Middle East Water Shortage). Use of treated water can cause different infectious and gastrointestinal diseases. According to Baroudy even contact with this water sometimes can cause allergies and other dermatological illnesses (2005, 25-35). Another problem is that this water has some biological and chemical matter dissolved in it, which can obstruct soil pores. Clogged soil has less ability for leaking which leads to bad irrigation efficiencies (Middle East Water Shortage). But, of course, some standards with the purpose to limit these effects were elaborated. Toughening standards require financial investments (Baroudy 2005, 25-35). Process of waste treatment requires special equipment and construction of special water treatment
According to the Ministry of Water And Electricity 2014 annual report, Saudi Arabia’s groundwater and dams are only composes 40% of their water supply. Saudi Arabia’s civilization is located in a hot, arid climate. For years they have had trouble developing their country by advancing their agriculture to improve and sustain their economy. Consequently they now are facing a severe lack of water Saudi Arabia con only “provide 76 cubic meters about 20,000 gallons per person per year, far below the generally accepted 500 cubic meters per person per year of absolute scarcity.”() But with ineffective use of water, 80% of the freshwater they have is used for agriculture, industry and daily consumption each year. With so little water, this country is in a predicament and needs to find a new method to desalinate water and improve its effectiveness. However, methods like hoarding other countries resources have caused a negative side effect to the citizens of these affected states, putting at risk there resources, money, and lifestyle. There new methods are having negative consequences towards others. The way Saudi Arabia has been approaching water scarcity, will not administer the response they were looking for and solve the lack of water that is crucial in the development of their civilization.
In the Middle East, water plays an imperative role in improving the quality of life and socioeconomic development (Priscoli, 1999). Water is a valuable resource all over the Middle East. Water is not only essential for life, but also for the progress of civilization in the Middle East (Center for South Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, 2017). Iran (former name Persia until 1935), one of the oldest cradles of civilization in the world, has made tremendous efforts into the past few thousand years to meet a sustainable water resource management. Water delivery, water balance, water storage, water quality, water protection, water saving, waste water controlling, hazard mitigation and adaptation are among the most important challenges which Iranians
What is known about the bodies of water on this planet is that 97% of all water on earth is salt water, which is not suitable for drinking. Only 3% of all the water is fresh and only 1% is available for drinking, which leaves only 2% of the available fresh water sources lock in ice caps and glaciers. However, with the growing population rate and such a small percentage of all the water on earth, it only makes sense that we must preserve and conserve these precious resources (Evans). According to UNEP senior director Klaus Toepfer, “ history provided grim reminders that failure to manage water resources properly has caused the end of civilizations – in Mesopotamia, but also in other countries, such as Ethiopia, where the ancient civilization of Aksum collapse – partly because of deforestation and its consequent water-related impacts”
Water can be considered the most important nonrenewable resource in the world. Every human across the world needs it in order to live and it carries a lot of value. The world is now at a stage where the scarcity of water is making people nervous because groundwater is at an all-time low. Several wars over the years have arisen in the Middle East for water. Desert is the many land condition that rules over the Middle East which means drier air, sand, and minimum water available. This is not a light issue since blood is being spilled over the control of certain rivers and dams within the area. Tension over control for water sources will only worsen as fresh water availability decreases.
Water is becoming a limited natural resource in the world. In an article published on National Geographic website about “Fresh Water Crisis” [1] it has mentioned that out of the 70% of water which is covering the earth, only 2.5% is suitable for drinking and just 1% of fresh water is easily accessible. In the same article the author talks about how people are wasting this limited resource. The growing scarcity of water is due to the rapid growth of population, rising demand for food and cash crops, increasing urbanization and rising standard of living. On the other hand people are writing articles and papers about how to solve this scarcity issue and all the resources presented about
Water is the key to survival, it has very important role in living organisms. Life on earth will be impossible without it. Water is considered one of the most sensitive and important subjects in the Middle East, where increasing water deficiency and quality decline of the available water are forthcoming According to the World Health Organization (WHO) the first line of defense is protecting water supplies from contamination (Al-Khatlb et al., 2005).
CAlthough people in America have become used to always having access to water, many countries in the world have an insufficient amount of water. One of these countries is Afghanistan.
Water is the most important substance in the universe today, without it people would not be able to continue existence. Water covers most part of our planet, only a small number of the world’s water is fresh water. People need freshwater to drink, bath, irrigate our farm fields, it is incredibly rare. Everyone has the right to require access to enough clean water. Using and drinking clean, safe water is a human right. But the shortage of water resources has become one of the main problems of the 21st century in many societies and the world. Although there is no global water resource shortage happening, but more and more regions are affected by long-term water
The poor population of the cities will become sick which will further infect our water. The polluted water supply will kill off the fish or make them unhealthy to eat. Too many people living in such close quarters will soon pass on disease to their neighbors. There will be no water to clean and sanitize to stop the spread of disease. This will kill off a fair amount of the population.
Water, essential to human life as much as the air we breathe, is becoming a more valuable resource as areas once with abundant water are now running low and nations must make choices on how to provide and share this resource not only with their citizens but with their neighboring countries as well. Asia, with 65 percent of the world’s population but with only 47 percent of the global average of fresh water per person must work with its neighbors to develop sustainable and share sustainable water resources. The Middle East’s ongoing water crisis could lead to government instability, civil war, and failed states. Over Sixty percent of the regions surface water flows from
Australia is one of the oldest continents in the world and during its history has been covered in ice caps and had hot, dry periods where much was desert. It therefore has been subject to a multitude of lateral transport mechanisms throughout geological time.
Through recent studies, scientists have noticed that political issues have actually made the air in the Middle East cleaner. Scientists have discovered this because of the significant changes they can see from space. These scientists looked at 10 years of recorded data taken by NASA’s Aura spacecraft which records the Ozone levels such as nitrogen oxide. Nitrogen oxide emissions have dropped because of the civil war in Syria, movement of refugees, new environmental safety laws and the amounts of fossil fuels used in the Middle East. Scientists have found that 58% of nitrogen oxide emissions around the world are cause by the burning of fossil fuels. Since the Middle East has more fossil fuels, they produce more nitrogen oxide and sulfur dioxide. In places such as Saudi Arabia, within 5 years, their general energy consumption rose along with their nitrogen oxide levels. During those five years, Saudi Arabia passed a law that was aimed toward reducing the country’s environmental footprint causing the consumption to continue to rise while the nitrogen oxide emissions dropped. Other Middle Eastern countries such as Kuwait started putting their own air quality standards into play proving that air control is successful. These standards were leading other countries like the Israeli cities of Tel Aviv and Haifa to pass a Clean Air Law. The result of the Clean Air Law was as successful as the law passed in Saudi Arabia. Other causes for the drops in emission levels were not as
For long time Israel was suspected in embezzlement of South Lebanese water during the occupation of water called safety strip from 1978 to 2000. In the report of UN experts presented at the annual meeting of the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia ( ESCWA) in Amman in May 1994 , it was reported that since the establishment of this zone “Israel was annually pumping water from Litani to its territory with pumps installed at the bridge of Khardali, in a volume of 150 million m3”. " Another 65 million m3 allegedly was taken from Wazzani and Hasbani .
Clean water supply is essential in establishing and maintaining a healthy community. There are two sources of water supply which are the surface water and ground water. Most natural waters are not suitable for consumption as it is contaminated by pathogens and also natural chemicals and minerals. In addition, as a city grew, wastes from human activities contaminate most of the water supplies. Water treatment plays an important role to properly treat a contaminated source of water supply in order to protect the health of consumers. Water treatment process is defined as a process of eliminating pollutants from untreated water to produce a biologically and chemically risk-free water, which is both potable and palatable for human consumption
Summary: This article talks about the scarcity of water that is being faced by people in the Middle East. The lack of water is due to an increase in temperature, which is drying out underground aquifers, and from agriculture, which consumes large quantities of water. The depleting water supplies are