The myth of water wars and the future of irrigated agriculture in the Middle East
- 1 January 1994
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Taylor & Francis in International Journal of Water Resources Development
- Vol. 10 (1), 9-21
- https://doi.org/10.1080/07900629408722606
Abstract
Recent papers have claimed that in the Middle East the pressure on available water resources might result in hostilities between certain states. This paper argues that such wars are unlikely given that most water in the region is being used, mostly inefficiently, for irrigation purposes. It is claimed that the water problems of most countries could be solved by diverting a relatively small amount of water from irrigation to higher value urban/industrial uses. Food production would suffer somewhat but the richer countries could make good these losses by purchases on the world market. Inevitably, irrigated agriculture in the Middle East must contract as growing populations demand more water for their needs.Keywords
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