WaterWars. The next major conflict in the Middle EastWater Wars A Lecture by Adel Darwish- Geneva conference on Environment and Quality of Life June 1994. Oil has always been thought of as the traditional cause of conflict in the Middle East past and present. Since the first Gulf oil well gushed in Bahrain in 1932, countries have squabbled over borders in the hope that ownership of a patch of desert or a sand bank might give them access to new riches.
No longer. Now, most borders have been set, oil fields mapped and reserves accurately estimated - unlike the water resources, which are still often unknown. WATER is taking over from oil as the likeliest cause of conflict in the Middle East. When President Anwar Sadat signed the peace treaty with Israel in 1979, he said Egypt will never go to war again, except to protect its water resources. All these nations depend on three great river systems, or vast underground aquifers, some of which are of `fossil water' that cannot be renewed. The shortage: Water Shortage, Drinking Water Crisis Solutions. Water ... worth more than gold and more crucial for survival above all other resources on earth. And yet, over one billion men, women, and children do not have enough safe water to drink and therefore will never live a healthy life. Who are these people? They are the innocent children and desperate families living in overcrowded urban slums, in refugee camps, and in poverty-stricken towns and villages too numerous to count in rural areas of developing countries around the world.
Here, less than 50% of the population has access to safe drinking water and only 25% have access to sanitary systems. These rural villagers have no political power, have no visibility and have no voice in the discussion of the human right to water. At Global Water, we believe it is one of our responsibilities to give a voice to the rural poor of the developing world and to say: “Yes, everyone deserves the right to safe water.” The Problem Hunger Without water, crops and livestock wither and die. Disease Poverty. HDR06-complete. Water crisis. Facts: Water. Water 1 in 10 people lack access to safe water Sanitation 1 in 3 people lack access to a toilet Women & Children Women and children spend 125 million hours each day collecting water Disease Every 90 seconds a child dies from a water-related disease Economics Every $1 invested in water and sanitation provides a $4 economic return Facts About Water & Sanitation Share 663 million people - 1 in 10 - lack access to safe water.1 2.4 billion people - 1 in 3 - lack access to a toilet.1 Twice the population of the United States lives without access to safe water.1,2 1/3 of the global population lives without access to a toilet.1,2 More people have a mobile phone than a toilet.1,3 The water crisis is the #1 global risk based on impact to society (as a measure of devastation), as announced by the World Economic Forum in January 2015. 4 Resource Links Look for more facts in our collection of Water Resource Links.
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