The unequal distribution of the waters of the Euphrates River
Douglas Jahl New York Times
The Euphrates River flows not far from Tel al-Sman, but the water does not reach the door of Abd al-Razzaq Awin's house. Here, in the heart of the fertile crescent, he stares at the dry fields. The Syrian government has promised to supply water to the small village of Awin. However, similar promises were also made upstream, in Turkey, and downstream, in Iraq, and the Euphrates River was too narrow to contain them.
So instead of irrigating the cotton and sugar beet fields, Evin has to transport drinking and bathing water from a canal 40 minutes away by tractor. At the same time, across the border, a Turkish farmer named Ahmet Demir is wallowing in mud up to his ankles; His crop gets the amount of water it needs.
More and more places in the world are fighting for less and less water. From the sprawling deserts of northern China, through the scorched highlands of Mesopotamia, to the cotton fields of Texas, the struggle for water ignites political, economic and social tensions.
According to the World Bank, the reduced water supply will be a significant factor in slowing economic growth - an issue that will be discussed at the international conference that opened yesterday in South Africa. The conference will deal, among other things, with ways to balance the use of the world's resources with economic needs.
According to experts, global warming only adds to the existing tension. Droughts are already spreading in dry areas, as well as in some parts of the USA. On the other hand, areas that are prone to rains are prone to floods and inundations such as those in Europe and China. The global climate is becoming more extreme - some areas have too much water and others too little.
The UN and the National Intelligence Council, an advisory body to the CIA, have warned that the competition for water will intensify. "From now until 2015, countries will stretch the limits of the available water sources, and this will increase the chances of conflicts," says a report by the National Intelligence Council published last year.
According to the estimates of the United Nations and the American government, by the year 2015 at least 40% of the world's population - or three billion people - will live in countries that will hardly be able to meet their basic water needs. "The signs of the inability to provide water are already there and even multiplying," said Sandra Postel, director of the Global Water Policy Project in Amherst, Massachusetts. According to her, "to continue to meet water needs
And the food of the world's inhabitants in the coming years we must fundamentally change the management
Our water systems".
The fact that the global water supply is limited cannot be ignored. Less than one percent of the world's fresh water alone can be used for drinking and agriculture, and the demand for water is only increasing. In the last 70 years, the world's population has increased threefold, while the demand for water has increased sixfold - which causes tensions mainly in densely populated areas.
It is estimated that already more than half of the available fresh water in the world is used up each year. This rate may increase to 74% by 2025, and even to 90% if the consumption of the world's inhabitants falls short of the average American.
The level of drinking water on all continents is decreasing and experts warn that in the coming years the situation will only get worse. The predictions regarding the water situation in the future only add to the tensions and uncertainty in countries that share water sources such as Turkey and Syria, where Evin is still waiting for the Euphrates to reach his doorstep.
The stories of Evin and Demir illustrate how the intensifying struggle for water can destroy or build lives. Until last year, the Turkish Demir, 42 years old and father of nine children, was engaged in smuggling immigrants. However, a few days ago he stood contentedly basking with his bare feet in the mud of the Euphrates. "We seem to have all the water we need," he said.
What has changed in this poor area in southern Turkey is that the technology of irrigation systems has finally reached it as well. As part of one of the largest water projects in the world, in which 30 billion dollars were invested, the Turkish government spread the gifts of the Euphrates even in this poor area.
Even the Syrian Evin could have celebrated at the same time. An ambitious irrigation project is also in the pipeline of the Syrian government, within the framework of which water from the Euphrates was supposed to reach the door of Evin's house, a distance of less than 80 km from Demir. However, this project has been stopped for the time being, after it became clear to the Syrians that the Turkish plan may cause Syria and other countries down the river to suffer from a water shortage. "We are still waiting," said 40-year-old Evin on behalf of his two wives, three children and 17 brothers and sisters.
The problems around the Euphrates River can be summarized in a simple general equation. The average annual river capacity is 35 million cubic meters of water. However, with reference to various plans of Turkey, Syria and Iraq for the construction of dams and irrigation systems,
Their combined annual consumption will be one and a half times greater than the average capacity of the river. The three countries are aware that they will not be able to implement their irrigation plans at the same time.
However, none of them expressed a willingness to reduce their plans. In an attempt to deal with the accelerated growth in the population and to prevent migration to the cities, each country clings to its irrigation dreams.
The picture becomes even sharper when you look at the two sides of the border between Turkey and Syria: on one side the fields are barely suitable for grazing, and on the other side cotton and sugar beet fields that have just started to grow. Demir's farm income tripled, young women water the seedlings in the fields, and young men wade in irrigation canals.
Now from the water, Damir is toying with the idea that his four sons, the youngest of whom is four months old and the oldest is 22, will stay in the village and work, something that was completely out of the question a year ago, when the work in agriculture was extremely arduous.
In a world where water is fought for, the idea of sharing it with others makes Damir jump out of his seat. "If I use less water, it means others will use more," he said. "I use the amount I need and as for others - that's their problem."
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