The regional climate of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) hosts 294 million people and is made up of arid and semi-arid climates with variable rainfall. The Middle Eastern history in particular is an important site of early settled agriculture, and origin centre of major cereal crops. Whilst the region’s environmental climate varies, it is predominantly arid or semi- arid, with low rainfall and humidity.The areas of more humidity account for 10% of the land but house majority of the population therefore the concentration of stress on the land can lead to soil degradation. Large scale irrigated areas account for 2% of the regional land, including 17% of the regional population.
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| Tunisian farmland showing the vast expanse of agricultural land |
Agriculture is a vital livelihood source in the Middle East and North Africa region with a population of 294 million, but there is a growing food supply crisis particularly in non-oil producing countries. 84 million of these people are dependent on agriculture.
The relationship between water and arid agriculture is very
fragile, not primarily on the economic and environmental implications but also
on the socio-political domain due to the trans-boundary nature of water
resources. In Egypt, the seasonal inundation of the Nile Basin reduced farmer’s
reliance on the precipitation and allowed localised development around the
River Nile. However, other
countries within the Basin, such as Ethiopia, suffered drought and famine , which has
historically increased vulnerability of the people due to poor management,
resulting in displacement and mortality.
When there is water shortages, farmers often make more profit by selling their water (from groundwater supplies), rather than their crops. This occured in Tunisia where irrigation costs increased fourfold in a decade and in India, where costs vs practice clashes. Similarly unsustainable practices become common in the face of water scarcity in arid landscapes, amplifying the various problems and reducing applicability of solutions.
Water shortages are likely to have serious implications on the region, where there is growing population numbers and food demands but underdevelopment is prevalent. The MENA region does have some agricultural productivity and is the livelihood of 17 million people. However, due to the inflation of prices, over 50% of the food is imported.
The lack of self-sufficiency in order to meet food security, increases the vulnerability to variety of hazards which is required to achieve sustainable development and secure livelihoods.
Long term social issues associated with water scarcity in this region are likely to lead to increasing poverty and conflict, as many of these countries have poor socio-political economies with widespread underdevelopment. Regarding the Syrian crisis, 2006-2011 saw the country face severe droughts which resulted in widespread poverty and displacement. The lack of infrastructure form the Syrian government also deepened this national issue which added to anti-regime feelings amongst the population.
It is widely discussed that within the Middle East dwindling water reserves and socio-political hostilities will lead to water wars, incurring human and environmental losses. The predicted impacts of climate change will cause further devastation such as severe variations between arid and semi arid environments and rainfall. Short term and long term issues will implicitly affect the social, economic and environmental domains on which sustainable development is based on. A solution to maintain long term interests will be better management of water resources by all stakeholders involved including the public users, particularly where there is excess use, such as that in the agricultural sector.
When there is water shortages, farmers often make more profit by selling their water (from groundwater supplies), rather than their crops. This occured in Tunisia where irrigation costs increased fourfold in a decade and in India, where costs vs practice clashes. Similarly unsustainable practices become common in the face of water scarcity in arid landscapes, amplifying the various problems and reducing applicability of solutions.
Water shortages are likely to have serious implications on the region, where there is growing population numbers and food demands but underdevelopment is prevalent. The MENA region does have some agricultural productivity and is the livelihood of 17 million people. However, due to the inflation of prices, over 50% of the food is imported.
The lack of self-sufficiency in order to meet food security, increases the vulnerability to variety of hazards which is required to achieve sustainable development and secure livelihoods.
Long term social issues associated with water scarcity in this region are likely to lead to increasing poverty and conflict, as many of these countries have poor socio-political economies with widespread underdevelopment. Regarding the Syrian crisis, 2006-2011 saw the country face severe droughts which resulted in widespread poverty and displacement. The lack of infrastructure form the Syrian government also deepened this national issue which added to anti-regime feelings amongst the population.
It is widely discussed that within the Middle East dwindling water reserves and socio-political hostilities will lead to water wars, incurring human and environmental losses. The predicted impacts of climate change will cause further devastation such as severe variations between arid and semi arid environments and rainfall. Short term and long term issues will implicitly affect the social, economic and environmental domains on which sustainable development is based on. A solution to maintain long term interests will be better management of water resources by all stakeholders involved including the public users, particularly where there is excess use, such as that in the agricultural sector.
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