Title: Water Crisis in the Euphrates-Tigris Water Basin: A Messy Situation

 

Author: Stephen Fowler

Abstract: In the future, fresh water will be one of the most important resources on the planet. In some place it has already become a resource that is worth fighting for. The driest populated region in the world is the Northern Africa and the Middle East. Here, fresh water is a limiting and extremely valuable resource. When nations must share water resources, it can become a very confusing and stressful issue. One example of this in the Middle East is in the shared water basin of the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers. Here the nations of Turkey, Syria, and Iraq all rely a great deal on the two rivers. This dependence on the rivers is becoming too great, creating a very complicated situation of resource sharing and water rights. This paper will attempt to set forth these issues. 

Key References:

Brooks, D. (1997). Between the Great Rivers: Water in the Heart of the Middle East. Water Resources Development, 13, 291-309.

Hakki, M.M. (2007). An Analysis of the Legal Issues Concerning Turkey’s Southeastern Anatolia Project (GAP). World Affairs, 169, 175-180.

Kibaroglu, A. & Unver, I.H. (2000). An Institutional Framework for Facilitating Cooperation in the Euphrates-Tigris River Basin. Internation Negotiation, 5, 311-330.

Kolars, J. (2000). Defining the Political/Ecological Threshold for the Euphrates and Tigris River. Arab Studies Quarterly, 22, 101-112.

Tomanbay, Mehmet. (2000). Turkey’s Approach to Utilization of the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers. Arab Studies Quarterly, 22, 79-100.

United Nations Department of Public Information. (2003). International Year of Fresh Water 2003. As reference on (5/1/08) on the web: http://www.un.org/events/water/TheRighttoWater.pdf

Zawahri, N. (2006). Stabilising Iraq’s Water Supply: what the Euphrates and Tigris rivers can learn from the Indus. Third World Quarterly, 27, 1041-1058.

 

 

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Date: May 2008
Student: rfowler@willamette.edu
ENVR 327: Water Resources
Instructor: Dr. Karen Arabas
http://www.willamette.edu/~karabas/courses/envr327w