Water and Peace in Middle East

Apr 2, 2018 | M. Reza Behnam
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The Middle East, oil rich but water poor, with about 6 percent of the world’s population, has only 1 percent of the Earth’s renewable water resources. Fourteen Middle East and North African countries are among the 33 most water-stressed in the world. Climate change, drought and population growth have increased the demand for water in this arid region, fueling conflict and instability. Clashes over water access have aggravated an already volatile Middle East. For many countries, water scarcity has become a national security issue. Middle Easterners depend on four main sources of water: aquifers, precipitation, rivers and desalinized sea water. The underground aquifers, however, are drying out at alarming rates. Increasingly, the oil-rich Persian Gulf states are depending on desalination for water security. Only Iran and Turkey have been self-sufficient in water.