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Are Gulf Nations Burying Their Heads In The Sand Over Water?
January 20th, 2010
Via The Financial Times, an interesting look at how energy and water-intensive lifestyles have pushed the Gulf states into a freshwater crisis. As the article notes: “…Standing in one of the many farms that line Bahrain’s northern coast, it is easy to forget that this is technically a desert island. Between the ranks of date […]
Read more »No Deal: Madagascar Ends Water Export Scheme With Saudi Arabia
November 15th, 2009
Courtesy of Circle of Blue, an interesting look at how the politics of water dried up a proposed sale of water from Madagascar to Saudi Arabia. As the article notes: “…Madagascar’s government has ended a water export deal with Saudi Arabia because it was opposed by environmental, civil society groups in the country. …The deal […]
Read more »Terrorism: A Different Type of Water Threat In The Middle East
November 19th, 2008
Via The Khaleej Times, an article on a different kind of water war threat in the Middle East. As the report notes: “…Prince Khaled Bin Sultan, assistant minister of defence and aviation for military affairs, has urged Arab countries to take precautions against possible terror attacks on water resources. Inaugurating the Third International Conference on […]
Read more »Middle East & North Africa: Food vs. Water
July 21st, 2008
As reported in The International Herald Tribune, global food shortages have placed the Middle East and North Africa in a quandary, forcing them to choose between growing more crops to feed an expanding population or preserving their already scant supply of water. As the article notes: “…For decades nations in this region have drained aquifers, […]
Read more »Emerging Water Shortages
June 8th, 2008
Via YubaNet.com, an insightful adaptation of Chapter 4, “Emerging Water Shortages,” from Lester R. Brown’s Plan B 3.0: Mobilizing to Save Civilization. It details a number of countries that are overpumping aquifers as they struggle to satisfy their growing water needs, including the big three grain producers–China, India, and the United States. But, as the […]
Read more »A Myriad of Small Leaks May Lead to a Deluge of Water Wars in The Middle East
February 19th, 2008
An interesting article in today’s Arabian Business online edition which emphasized that the Middle East is facing the threat of a ‘water war’ unless Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq address their huge water wastage problems. An industry expert with the specialist water group Metito warned that water leakages in these four countries run at […]
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