Water in the Middle East

Abstract

Water resources are a particularly problematic variable in the environmental security milieu because water is an essential resource for which there is no substitute. The volume of renewable fresh water is finite and not equitably distributed in a spatial sense. From a geopolitical perspective, the world’s largest river systems are shared by multiple states and the potential for conflict is high. Historically water conflicts have resolved by cooperative means and states have relied on technology, trade, and diplomatic solutions. This chapter argues that the security landscape has changed profoundly, and the history of cooperative water–conflict resolution is no longer a reliable guide to the future. Rather, the continued peaceful resolution of interstate water conflicts is inconsistent with the realities of the emerging national security landscape. Climate change is already adversely affecting the distribution of water in many critical water basins, and the simultaneous proliferation of failing states has reduced the potential for diplomatic resolutions. This chapter examines linkages between environmental stress, regional instability, water availability, and conflict and uses the Middle East as a case study to highlight these points.