Water Insecurity, Climate Change and Governance in the Arab World

Middle East Policy

Volumn 21, Issue 2, 2014, Pages 140-156

  Greenwood, Scott ^a  

^a CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY   (United States)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

EID: 84902013861     PISSN: 10611924     EISSN: 14754967     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1111/mepo.12077     Document Type: Article

References (65)

1. Filippo Giorgi and Piero Lionello, "Climate Change Projections for the Mediterranean Region," Global and Planetary Change 63 (September 2008);
2. E. Hertig and J. Jacobeit, "Downscaling Future Climate Change: Temperature Scenarios for the Mediterranean Area," Global and Planetary Change 63 (September 2008);
3. sé M. García-Ruiz et al., "Mediterranean Water Resources in a Global Change Scenario," Earth-Science Reviews 105 (2011).
4. Martin Hoerling et al., "On the Increased Frequency of Mediterranean Drought," Journal of Climate 25 (2012).
5. World Bank, Making the Most of Scarcity: Accountability for Better Water Management Results in the Middle East and North Africa (2007), 7-9.
6. Fieldwork for this project was carried out in Jordan during January 2012 and January 2013. While in country, the author collected reports and documents dealing with water and agricultural policy in Jordan and interviewed 22 individuals (both Jordanian and foreign) working on water and agricultural policy. As many of the issues discussed in the article are politically sensitive, the author has chosen not to name these interviewees in order avoid causing them any undue harm for their cooperation in the research project.
7. Elias Salameh and Munther J. Haddadin, "The Population-Water Resources Equation," in Water Resources in Jordan: Evolving Policies for Development, the Environment, and Conflict Resolution, ed. Munther J. Haddadin (Resources for the Future Press, 2006), 9;
8. di Karam, "Climate Change and Variability in Lebanon: Impact on Land Use and Sustainable Agriculture Development," unpublished manuscript, n.d.
9. Peter Suppan et al., "Impact of Climate Change on Water Availability in the Near East," in Climatic Changes and Water Resources in the Middle East and North Africa, eds. Fathi Zereini and Heinz Hotzl (Springer, 2010), 47.
10. Hoerling et al, "On the Increased Frequency of Mediterranean Drought."
11. "East Bankers" are Jordanian citizens whose families originated from the East Bank of the Jordan River, many of whom claim tribal descent whether they live in rural villages or Jordan's major cities. The term "Jordanians" will be used to refer to Jordanian citizens and residents as a whole, regardless of their family's geographic origin.
12. Ghor is the Arabic word used by Jordanians to refer to the Jordan Valley.
13. Munther J. Haddadin, "Evolution of Water Administration and Legislation," in Water Resources in Jordan, 35-36.
14. Munther J. Haddadin, Sami J. Sunna, and Hani A. Al Rashid, "Development of Water Resources and Irrigation," in Water Resources in Jordan, 80.
15. Some Highland farmers also rely on water harvesting, or the storage of rainwater in small earthen dams for irrigation, but the primary source for irrigation water is underground freshwater aquifers.
16. Mauro Van Aken et al., Historical Trajectory of a River Basin in the Middle East: The Lower Jordan River Basin (Regional Mission for Water and Agriculture, 2006), 79.
17. Further incentives for investors were the exemption of farming income from taxes and a government subsidy reducing the cost of the diesel fuel used for water pumping.
18. Munther J. Haddadin and Musa Shteiwi, "Linkages with Social and Cultural Issues," in Water Resources in Jordan, 218.
19. Don Humpal et al., "A Review of Water Policies in Jordan and Recommendations for Strategic Priorities: Final Report," United States Agency for International Development, April 2012, 6-8.
20. Chantal Demilecamps and Wael Sartawi, Farming in the Desert: Analysis of the Agricultural Situation in Azraq Basin (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit, 2010), 20-21.
21. George T. Keith Pitman, "Jordan: An Evaluation of Bank Assistance for Water Development and Management," The World Bank Operations Evaluation Department, 2004.
22. Previous quotas used by the government were in the range of 50,000 to 100,000 cubic meters per year.
23. Jean-Philippe Venot and François Molle, "Groundwater Depletion in the Jordan Highlands: Can Pricing Policies Regulate Irrigation Water Use?" Water Resource Management 22 (2008), 1931.
24. Elias Salameh and Munther Haddadin, "The Population-Water Resources Equation," in Water Resources in Jordan, 16-17.
25. 4.046 dunams equals one acre.
26. Demilecamps and Sartawi, Farming in the Desert, 12.
27. Suppan et al, "Impact of Climate Change on Water Availability in the Near East," 52.
28. Ibrahim M. Oroud, "The Impacts of Climate Change on Water Resources in Jordan," in Climatic Changes and Water Resources in the Middle East and North Africa, 120.
29. Armin Margane et al., "Water Resources Protection Efforts in Jordan and Their Contribution to Sustainable Water Resources Management," in Climatic Changes and Water Resources in the Middle East and North Africa, 327.
30. Interview with a Jordanian agricultural economist, Amman, January 6, 2013.
31. Jessica Barnes, "Managing the Waters of Baath Country: The Politics of Water Scarcity in Syria," Geopolitics 14 (2009), 523-525.
32. Adam Nicky, "Gaza Strip Faces Water Shortage," Ynetnews, January 29, 2014, accessed February 16, 2014, http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4482619,00.html.
33. ESCWA Water Development Report 2: State of Water Resources in the ESCWA Region, 2. The ESCWA does not include Sudan, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria nor Morocco.
34. For an excellent discussion of the interaction between demographic trends and demand for water, please
35. Diana Hummel, "The Interaction of Population Dynamics and Transformations in Water Supply Systems in the Jordan River Basin," in Climatic Changes and Water Resources in the Middle East and North Africa.
36. World Development Indicators, http://data.worldbank.org/products/wdi.
37. Interview, Amman, January 16, 2012.
38. Nicolas Pelham, "Jordan's Balancing Act," Middle East Information Project (February 22, 2011).
39. Francesca de Chatel, "The Role of Drought and Climate Change in the Syrian Uprising: Untangling the Triggers of the Revolution," Middle Eastern Studies (forthcoming).
40. World Development Indicators, http://data.worldbank.org/products/wdi.
41. Avner Vengosh et al., "High Naturally Occurring Radioactivity in Fossil Groundwater from the Middle East," Environmental Science and Technology 43 (2009). For a detailed discussion of the debate surrounding the health risks of water from the Disi aquifer
42. Ryan Greenwood (no relation to author), "Social, Political, Economic, and Health Effects of the Disi Aquifer on Jordanian Society," Independent Study Project Collection Paper 1104, 2011.
43. Hana Namrouqa, "Red Sea Project to be Scaled Down," Jordan Times, November 21, 2012.
44. Government of Jordan, "Water for Life: Jordan's Water Strategy, 2008-2022," Ministry of Water and Irrigation, 2009.
45. Thomas F. Homer-Dixon and Jessica Blitt, eds., Ecoviolence: Links Among Environment, Population and Security (Rowman and Littlefield, 1998)
46. Colin H. Kahl, States, Scarcity and Civil Strife in the Developing World (Princeton University Press, 2006).
47. Using the threshold of "social unrest," defined as communal violence and riots, some researchers have found a positive link between water scarcity and civil conflict. Examples of this literature include Cullen S.
48. Hendrix and Idean Salehyan, "Climate Change, Rainfall, and Social Conflict in Africa," Journal of Peace Research 49 (2012);
49. Clionadh Raleigh and Dominic Kniveton, "Come Rain or Shine: Analysis of Conflict and Climate Variability in East Africa," Journal of Peace Research 49 (2012). Other studies using the threshold of civil war have not found a positive relationship between water scarcity and violent conflict. Please see Ole Magnus Theisen, Helge Holtermann, and Halvard Buhaug, "Climate Wars? Assessing the Claim that Drought Breeds Conflict," International Security 36 (Winter 2011/12).
50. Ole Magnus Theisen, Helge Holtermann, and Halvard Buhaug, "Climate Wars? Assessing the Claim that Drought Breeds Conflict," International Security 36 (Winter 2011/12)
51. Francesco Femia and Caitlin Werrell, "Syria: Climate Change, Drought and Social Unrest," Center for Climate Security, February 29, 2012
52. Shahrzad Mohtadi, "Climate Change and the Syrian Uprising," Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, August 16, 2012.
53. Jeannie Sowers and John Waterbury, "Syria under Stress: Did Drought Trigger the Crisis in Syria?" Footnote One, accessed December 11, 2013, http://footnote1.com/did-drought-trigger-the-crisis-in-syria/; and De Chatel, "The Role of Drought and Climate Change in the Syrian Uprising."
54. De Chatel, "The Role of Drought and Climate Change in the Syrian Uprising."
55. Khaled Neimat, "Majority of Jordanians Call for End to Syrian Refugee Influx," Jordan Times, April 15, 2013.
56. "Jordan: Ten Injured in Diarrhoea Riots," IRIN Middle East, October 31, 2007.
57. Hana Namrouqa, "Tankers Dispatched to Dry Russeifeh Households," Jordan Times, October 31, 2012.
58. Haddadin, "Evolution of Water Administration and Legislation," 46-47;
59. Nasim Barham, "Is Good Water Governance Possible in a Rentier State? The Case of Jordan," Center for Mellemøststudier (Syddansk University, May 2012)"Jordan: US$600 million project to end water shortage," IRIN Middle East, October 7, 2007 personal interview, Amman, January 16, 2012.
60. Demilecamps and Sartawi, Farming in the Desert, 29.
61. Personal interviews, Amman, January 12 and 16, 2012.
62. Personal interview with a long time observer of Jordanian politics, Amman, January 7, 2013.
63. Personal interview with a Jordanian journalist, Amman, January 13, 2013.
64. Such practices have been documented in the West Bank and Lebanon. Please see Neda Zawahri, Jeannie Sowers, and Erika Weinthal, "The Politics of Assessment: Water and Sanitation MDGs in the Middle East," Development and Change 42 (2011), 1166-1167.
65. While conducting her fieldwork in Syria during 2005 and 2006, Jessica Barnes found that most Syrians primarily blamed Turkey for Syria's water crisis. Please see Barnes, "Managing the Waters of Baath Country," endnote no. 31.