Case of the Euphrates and the Tigris rivers

The Middle East has been suffering several water conflicts between upstream and downstream countries for five thousands years because peoples or sovereign states didn’t get on well to share water.

First, the Middle East is one of the most arid regions in the world. Moreover, the Tigris and Euphrates rivers flow through three different states : Turkey, Syria and Iraq. Furthermore, the Middle East is a politically unstable area. What is more, freshwater demands are rising not only because the population growth rate is still increasing but also because these states are developing-countries (water management projects like construction of dams). In addition, the control of these rivers can begin a new weapon in diplomacy and political fields.

To know more :
http://gurukul.ucc.american.edu

The new 'blue gold'

As the 'dark gold', water is a crucial current issue. In fact, water is needed by everyone to survive but also by human's activities (agriculture, industries, hobbies...). That's why, water can generate conflicts between populations or states.

Despite, there is enough water in the world, there are a lot of water conflicts because this one is extremely badly distributed : some countries have got too much water (Canada...) whereas others haven't got enough (Egypt...).

So many conflicts were, are and will be linked to water : for instance, the Six Day War which opposed Israel against Egypt, Syria and Jordan in 1967 that enabled to supply the country with water by conquering new territories ; other example : the dispute between Turkey, Syria and Iraq about the Euphrates river and the Tigris river ; last example : the tension between Canada and the United States of America about the Great Lakes.

However, most of these conflicts end up by peaceful resolutions and sometimes by cooperation agreements.

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Clés de l'actualité n°611