TURKEY AND THE MIDDLE-EAST - PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS

Abstract

Three types of solutions have been proposed regarding the intensifying problems generated by insufficient water in the Middle East: 1) increasing the amount of available water; 2) redistributing the existing supply of water; and 3) using the existing water supply more efficiently. In the search for solutions, it is argued that the so-called water problem in the region should be disaggregated, and that each river system should be treated as a separate problem area since the needs and the political relations between the riparians are different in each case. Then, several plans to resolve water insufficiencies are discussed, such as transporting water from Turkey via a pipeline to the Gulf and via super tankers to any needy country in the region; reaching a regional agreement to pursue policies of water conservation, including the adoption of water-saving technologies and founding an international bank to support the adoption of these technologies; and, launching by riparian states of schemes to study land quality and patterns of water use as a preliminary step to further cooperation. It is concluded that the long-term solutions to water shortages necessitate an effort to control and reverse the trends that generate demands for larger and larger quantities of water.