Water-Demand Management in the Arab Gulf States: Implications for Political Stability
Publisher: Anthem Press
Author(s): Hussein A. Amery
Date: 2017
Topics: Conflict Causes, Extractive Resources, Renewable Resources
Countries: Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates
The Arabian Peninsula is one region where the terrain, climate and available natural resources have all played an important role in shaping human– environment relations, economic development and population size. Its harsh climatic conditions have historically deterred colonial powers from attempting to control the peninsula, save for the Ottomans, who controlled a coastal strip, a route to Mecca and Medina, and the British, who captured a few port cities. In addition to the Persian Gulf, the Indian Ocean and the Red Sea, the vast and harsh desert that covers much of the interior of the peninsula— extending all the way to the Euphrates River— was a virtual barrier to transportation, making much of the area feel like an island ( jazeera in Arabic) to its inhabitants.