Meant to say that Israel
will consider destroying the largest dam Syria
is planning to build
-----Original
Message-----
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of
Ed Kironde
Sent: Wednesday, May
28, 2003 11:01 PM
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: ugnet_: Water conflict
The Jordan
Basin
-
by far, the most water-short
region, with fierce competition for its water between Jordan,
Syria, Palestine
(Gaza and the West Bank),
and Israel. The combined population for this water-short nation
is projected to increase from 31 million to 51 million between 2000 and 2025.
-
Syria
plans to build dams and withdraw more water from the Jordan River,
decreasing the downstream water supply for Jordan
and Israel. The later warns that it will consider
destroying the largest dam that Israel
plans to build. Egypt
might consider the same for Sudan,
Ethiopia or Uganda.
-
Turkey,
located at the headwaters of Tigris and Euphrates
rivers, controls how much water flows downstream to Syria
and Iraq before
emptying into the Persian Gulf. Turkey
is building 24 dams along the upper Tigris and Euphrates
rivers to generate huge quantities of electricity and irrigate a large area of
land. This will reduce water flowing to Syria
and Iraq by 35%
in normal years and much more in a dry season. Syria
is also planning to build a large dam along the Euphrates
to divert water arriving from Turkey
and this will leave little water going to Iraq
and possibly lead to war between Syria
and Iraq.
Clearly, water
distribution will be a key issue in any piece talks in this region.
Acknowledgements:
G. Tyler Miller Jr, author of Sustaining The Earth, 5th Edition.
