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Corinthia Kessler

Honors English II-Apollo

Ms. Goodrich and Mr. Wimmer

April 23, 2019

Middle East is Thirsty

The Middle East is experiencing a water crisis, but what is a water crisis? According to

Science Daily​, “​Water scarcity is the lack of sufficient available water resources to meet the

demands of water usage within a region.”​ In the Middle East that is a huge problem because just

like everyone else, their day to day depends on water. The respective reasons for the Middle

Eastern water crisis are due to climate troubles, demanding farming methods, religious conflict,

and modern, aquatic technology.

Rain does not fall as often in this region as it does in other places of the world. In the

Middle East, they only get about 15 inches a year while the United States gets 1,500 each year.

As stated by Nadir Yurtoglu, the author of the ​History Studies International Journal of History​,

“humans interfere with the water cycle which causes water scarcity.” When people block the

water or when farmers use a lot, it changes the water cycle by changing the pattern of rain

because the water cannot evaporate evenly. The blockage and lack of water causes the rain to

stop raining in some areas leaving them dry. Humans take water for granted sometimes and don’t

realize the impact they have on it. In addition to the changing water masses, the decades long

drought in this region is a small factor that contributes to the water crisis.
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There are a lot of towns with many people in the Middle East despite the desert climate.

The National Academies state, “Each person on Earth requires at least 20 to 50 liters of clean,

safe water a day for drinking, cooking, and simply keeping themselves clean.” Water is very

important to the day to day life, but farmers need even more than 20 to 50 liters because in order

for their crops to grow, they need a lot of water to help nourish them. Farming is a popular

profession in the Middle East because of everything they can grow without having to tend to it

much. According to the Spotlight Middle East, “Agriculture uses ​85 percent of water ​in this

region.” Farm lands use the most water for their crops, so if they used less and conserved their

water then it would help the water crisis a bit; however, even this is not the biggest factor in the

water crisis.

After World War One, Europe separated the Middle East into different territories

regardless of religion, so some religions ended up being geographically close together. This

caused fighting and anger between them. The religions fight over water because they all want it

for their lands. Farmers don’t use as much water as each religion. According to NBC News,

“Water scarcity has damaged the standard of living for inhabitants of the Middle East.” This

builds tension on all the territories because everyone wants water, but there’s little water to go

around. Israel and Turkey have been fighting over water borders for years because of their

religious differences, such as judaism and islam . None of the religions are happy with where the

borders are, so no one wants to share the water they have and that makes it more of a problem

than farmers using the water. NBC also stated, “Tension between neighbors is happening

because of water.” Judaism is one of the biggest religions in the Middle East, so they believe

they’re entitled to the most water. This makes the other religions, like Christianity and Islam,
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very upset and want to fight them. The fight for water is heavily based on where they are from

and what religion they are, but if they learned to share peacefully between each other, the water

crisis wouldn’t be as devastating. Though this is a huge factor, it is not the largest factor the

Middle East has in relationship to the water crisis.

In the Middle East, there are many rivers and lakes that can provide water. However,

according to NBC News, “Turkey is building a new dam and is making the rivers shrink smaller

in the Middle East.” Building dams confines the water into certain areas which makes people

upset because it tends to be split unfairly which is why this is the biggest factor in the water

crisis. Many towns have built dams to confine the water, but it ends up drying other parts of the

land that make the people who live in those areas mad. Nadir Yurtoğlu from History Studies

states, “Dams and diversions installed upstream have left the Jordan River that divides the

countries as little more than a trickle.” The land needs water and it will dry up without it. It

causes tension within the towns because they all want water, but instead of sharing, they cut off

other people. They can have all the water in the land, but if they don’t know how to split it

evenly then the water will dry up for everyone and that’s why dams and construction is the

largest factor to the water crisis in the Middle East. Egypt, Israel, Iran, Turkey, Syria, Iraq, and

Lebanon need to join together and figure out where the dams should be in order to not cut off

water to anyone.

The water crisis is a big problem for the people who live in the Middle East. Without the

water they need, people are getting sick and dying. Diseases in the water like diarrhea are the

leading cause of people dying. Lack of rain, farming demands, religious borders, dams and

construction are the reason the water crisis is devastating.

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Works Cited

“How to Grow Your Own Chickpeas (Garbanzo Beans).”

Storey Publishing​, ​www.storey.com/article/grow-chickpeas-garbanzo-beans/​.

National Academies. “Safe Drinking Water Is Essential.” ​Koshland Science Museum​, National
Academies, 1 Sept. 2007,
www.koshland-science-museum.org/water/new/en/Overview/Why-is-Safe-Water-Essential.html​.

Old Farmer's Almanac. “Tomatoes.” ​Old Farmer's Almanac,​ ​www.almanac.com/plant/tomatoes​.

“The Mideast's Island of Peace Is Facing an Uncertain Future.” ​NBCNews.com,​ NBCUniversal

News Group,
www.nbcnews.com/news/world/water-scarcity-fuels-tensions-across-middle-east-n924736​.

“Water In Crisis - Spotlight Middle East.” ​The Water Project​,

thewaterproject.org/water-crisis/water-in-crisis-middle-east.

“Water Scarcity.” ​ScienceDaily,​ ScienceDaily, ​www.sciencedaily.com/terms/water_scarcity.htm​.

Shidler, Amber. “Grow Crunchy, Sweet Bell Peppers in Your Own Backyard.” ​Gardener's Path​,
9 Apr. 2019, gardenerspath.com/plants/vegetables/growing-using-bell-peppers/.

Yurtoğlu, Nadir.
“Http://Www.historystudies.net/Dergi//Birinci-Dunya-Savasinda-Bir-Asayis-Sorunu-Sebinkarahi
sar-Ermeni-isyani20181092a4a8f.Pdf.” ​History Studies International Journal of History​, vol. 10,
no. 7, 2018, pp. 241–264., doi:10.9737/hist.2018.658.
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