The Euphrates River and the Southeast Anatolia Development Project

The Euphrates River and the Southeast Anatolia Development Project PDF

Author: John F. Kolars

Publisher: SIU Press

Published: 1991

Total Pages: 368

ISBN-13: 9780809315727

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This book makes clear that water, not oil, is the key to the future of the Middle East. The Southeast Anatolia Development Project (SEAP) begun by Turkey will irrigate over 1.7 million hectares of new land, double its energy production, and provide agricultural surpluses that Turkey hopes to sell to its Arab neighbors. When SEAP is in full operation, however, the downstream nations will be faced with a greatly reduced flow of water of altered quality in the Euphrates. The war with Iraq has intensified the political significance of the project.

The Euphrates Triangle

The Euphrates Triangle PDF

Author: F. M. Lorenz

Publisher: National Defense University (NDU)

Published: 1999

Total Pages: 74

ISBN-13:

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For more than 4,000 years, lands irrigated by the Tigris and the Euphrates Rivers have been the scene of violent conflict. History has been shaped by geography and, in particular, by access to water. The Southeastern Anatolia Project (Guneydogu Anadolu Projesi, or GAP) is a major reclamation and hydropower project that has been a Turkish Government priority since 1961. When complete, the 22-dam project will irrigate an additional 1.7 million hectares (about 4.2 million acres) in southeast Turkey. The GAP has direct consequences for Iraq and Syria. Both countries are heavily dependent on the waters of the Tigris and the Euphrates, and the impact of the project could ultimately reduce the flow of fresh water to Syria and to Iraq. These transboundary water issues have the potential to further destabilize an already tense region as the GAP approaches full development in the next 20 years. A 1988 article in U.S. News and World Report described a frightening scenario: November 12, 1993. War erupted throughout the Middle East today in a desperate struggle for dwindling water supplies. Iraqi forces, attempting to smash a Syrian blockade, launched massive attacks on the Euphrates River valley. Syria answered with missile attacks on Baghdad. The envisioned scenario has not materialized some 10 years after its dire prediction, but security conditions in the Tigris-Euphrates basin are unstable and the potential for "water wars" is still present. Resource scarcity is an important factor in any security analysis, and the realm of environmental security is subject to renewed debate in the United States. This book explores the relationship between regional security and the river environment of the Tigris-Euphrates basin. The focus will be on Turkey, because a review of Turkish history, politics, and military capability is central to an understanding of the security issues concerning the GAP. -- p. 1.

Building a Regime for the Waters of the Euphrates-Tigris River Basin

Building a Regime for the Waters of the Euphrates-Tigris River Basin PDF

Author: Aysegul Kibaroglu

Publisher: BRILL

Published: 2021-10-18

Total Pages: 355

ISBN-13: 9004480102

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Due to a variety of reasons, water resources on the globe are becoming scarcer. The degree of water scarcity and its political, economic and social implications are felt more severely in regions like the Middle East. The Euphrates-Tigris river basin is one of the major sources of water, but also a source of tension in the region. Unless cooperation is achieved among the riparian countries, namely Turkey, Syria and Iraq, in the areas of management, allocation and utilisation of the waters of the Euphrates-Tigris basin, growing scarcity may result not only in conflict, but also in further devastation of an extremely vital source. Recently, water has become a subject matter of international law, and formal and informal deliberations in international conferences have produced general principles and norms for using and managing water resources effectively. Hence, this book is an attempt to put together a meaningful set of principles, norms, rules, and decision-making procedures of a region-specific regime framework for effective utilisation of the waters of the Euphrates-Tigris river basin with a view to promoting cooperation among the riparian countries.

Tigris and Euphrates Rivers: Their Environment from Headwaters to Mouth

Tigris and Euphrates Rivers: Their Environment from Headwaters to Mouth PDF

Author: Laith A. Jawad

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2021-09-12

Total Pages: 1612

ISBN-13: 3030575705

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The system of the Tigris-Euphrates Rivers is one of the great river systems of southwestern Asia. It comprises the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, which follow roughly parallel courses through the heart of the Middle East. The lower portion of the region that they run through is known as Mesopotamia, was one of the cradles of civilisation. There are several environmental factors that govern the nature of the two rivers and shape the landscape the two rivers running through. Geological events create rivers, climate monitor the water supply, the surrounding land influences the vegetation and the physical and chemical features of water. The Tigris-Euphrates system runs through the territory of four countries, Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria. Therefore, any scientific approach to the environment of these two rivers should include the natural history events in these countries. The book "Tigris and Euphrates Rivers: Their Environment from Headwaters to Mouth" will be divided into nine parts. These parts deal with the issues of the environment, the status of the flora and fauna, the abiotic aspects, ecology, hydrological regime of the two rivers, the biotic aspects. Water resources, stress of the environment, conservation issues. Since the book of Julian Rzoska "Euphrates and Tigris Mesopotamian Ecology and Destiny" in 1980, no book or major reference has been published that includes between its cover the facts and information that the present book will present. Therefore, the importance of the present book falls in stating the present status of the environment of the two rivers and the comparison of their environment between now and that of 37 years ago as given by J. Rzoska (1980). The recent studies showed that there are a large number of natural and political events that happened within the last three decades in the area of the Tigris-Euphrates river system that for sure have done a great change to the environment of the two rivers and consequently changing the biological and non-biological resources of the two rivers. This book will be a reference book to both Academic and students across the Middle East in different disciplines of knowledge to use in their researches on Tigris-Euphrates river system. The scholars interested in this area will use this book as a guide to compare this freshwater system with other areas in Asia and the world.

Impacts of Large Dams: A Global Assessment

Impacts of Large Dams: A Global Assessment PDF

Author: Cecilia Tortajada

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2012-02-02

Total Pages: 415

ISBN-13: 3642235700

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One of the most controversial issues of the water sector in recent years has been the impacts of large dams. Proponents have claimed that such structures are essential to meet the increasing water demands of the world and that their overall societal benefits far outweight the costs. In contrast, the opponents claim that social and environmental costs of large dams far exceed their benefits, and that the era of construction of large dams is over. A major reason as to why there is no consensus on the overall benefits of large dams is because objective, authoritative and comprehensive evaluations of their impacts, especially ten or more years after their construction, are conspicuous by their absence. This book debates impartially, comprehensively and objectively, the positive and negative impacts of large dams based on facts, figures and authoritative analyses. These in-depth case studies are expected to promote a healthy and balanced debate on the needs, impacts and relevance of large dams, with case studies from Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe and Latin America.

Water and Peace for the People

Water and Peace for the People PDF

Author: Jon Martin Trondalen

Publisher: UNESCO

Published: 2008-01-01

Total Pages: 248

ISBN-13: 9231040863

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This book proposes practical and objective solutions to the entrenched water conflicts in the Middle East. The author reveals and clarifies the complexity of the water conflicts, drawing on years of experience facilitating and chairing water negotiations in the region. The bottom line is: Unless the countries involved co-operate, the consequences will be devastating. The lack of plentiful and clean water for the people will not only result in severe human suffering, but could also have grave geopolitical consequences. The book covers four critical areas: the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers, where new documentation reveals alarming trends; the politically sensitive Golan Heights, with its water disputed by Israel and Syria; the Hasbani water dispute between Lebanon and Israel; the longstanding water resource dispute between the Israelis and Palestinians

Water, Environmental Security and Sustainable Rural Development

Water, Environmental Security and Sustainable Rural Development PDF

Author: Murat Arsel

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2009-12-04

Total Pages: 363

ISBN-13: 113523633X

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This co-edited volume provides a unified scholarly treatment of intensifying debates on the relationship between water scarcity and environmental security in Central Eurasia. Using discussions of sustainable rural development as its conceptual backdrop, the chapters in this volume combine solid empirical investigation with critical analysis of key concepts such as ‘scarcity’, ‘expert knowledge’, and ‘efficiency’. The central theme emerging from the contributions emphasizes the need to reevaluate accepted wisdom in resource studies that considers distributional conflicts over water usage as inherently zero-sum outcomes in which one player’s gains inevitably correspond to another player’s losses. Instead, the empirical and critical analyses in this book demonstrate that effective management of water resources can be re-conceptualized as the basis for regional cooperation and sustainable rural development.