Droughts and Societal Change: Impact of Drought On Emergence of Islam In Late Antique Arabia
June 20th, 2022
Via the Daily Mail, an article on a new report published by Science that examines the impact that extreme drought on the Arabian peninsula had upon the rise of Islam in the seventh century: For nearly 300 years, the Himyarite kingdom was the dominant power in ancient Arabia. Its economy, based on agriculture and foreign […]
Read more »Saving a Water-Stressed Middle East
December 6th, 2021
Via The Cairo Review, a look at how inefficient water management exacerbates water insecurity in the MENA region: The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) will be the most severely affected by climate change. A?report?by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change forecasts that this region will inevitably experience shorter and warmer winters, hotter and drier […]
Read more »How Yemen Chewed Itself Dry: Farming Qat, Wasting Water
November 4th, 2021
Courtesy of Foreign Affairs (subscription required), a dated but interesting article on Yemen’s qat-related water scarcity issue: In a little over a decade, Sana?a, Yemen, may become the world?s first capital to run out of water. Failed governance and environmental mismanagement share some of the blame for drying up the city. But there is also […]
Read more »Tackling the Trickle: Ensuring Sustainable Water Management in the Arab Region
June 3rd, 2020
Via AGU Register, an interesting and detailed look at water scarcity in the Arab region: Abstract Water scarcity in the Arab region is intensifying due to population growth, economic development, and the impacts of climate change. It is manifested in groundwater depletion, freshwater ecosystem degradation, deteriorating water quality, low levels of water storage per capita, […]
Read more »Water Conflicts That Could Boil Over In 2019
January 9th, 2019
Courtesy of Circle of Blue, a look at some simmering water crises that could boil over in 2019: In 2018, water sparked quarrels across the globe, from the?mountains of Central Asia?to the?world?s driest desert. Water systems were also a casualty and target of conflict. In Eastern Ukraine, water infrastructure was?shelled repeatedly. In Libya, a desalination […]
Read more »Global Cities Facing Water Risks
June 15th, 2018
Via IWA’s The Source, an interesting look at some of the water challenges facing several of the world’s most at-risk cities: Water visions precede action. Yet it?s easy to offer ?building blocks? to plan ?sustainable urban water systems? that inform and govern ?resilient and liveable cities.? What?s hard is showing how and where to implement […]
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