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Mrs. Hodges
AP Capstone Seminar
1, October, 2015
Pursuing Policy Change in the Middle East
The four year drought and water shortages in California, resulting in the implementations
of the first restrictions of water usage by Gov. Jerry Brown, brought many peoples attention
onto the Global Water Crisis. However, the Global Water Crisis is not something that is easily
solvable. Of the areas in the world that is hit the hardest due to the Water Crisis, the Middle East
stands as the undisputed champion. According to the World Recourses Institute, fourteen of the
thirty-three likely most water stricken countries in 2040 are in the Middle East. Thus, the
question arises, should policies be implemented in order to solve the water crisis in the Middle
East?
Currently, the United Arab Emirates is actively pursuing a policy of water conservation
through the use of education and technology. According to the New York Times, the policy of
water conservation is a strategic change in order to boost the countrys food security. The U.A.E
wishes to become less dependent on food imports and the policy to conserve water is supposedly

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able to increase agricultural output. In tandem with the research done by the U.A.E, the
International Food Policy Research Institution claims that food prices of cereals and other basic
food commodities will increase by as much as 50 percent over the next few decades. The adverse
of the studies would claim that the water crisis is directly impacting food production and the food
security. The increase in food prices will result in the increased pressure of many low-incomed
families to obtain the money to purchase food. As a result, it can be said that in order to stop
potentially hundreds of thousands of people from dying of starvation, many countries ought to
implement policies against the water crisis in order to ease growing food prices for the
population.
With the increased difficulty of obtaining food and water, the political stability in the
Middle East will continue to deteriorate. The Guardian states that the increased turmoil in
Jordan, Egypt, Yemen, Tunisia and Algeria are all due to increased food prices. Currently, the oil
tycoons of the Middle East are able to import enough food from the United States and other
countries to keep a lid on the political turmoil. However, as food prices increase, their ability to
keep the region stable greatly decreases. According to Jon Alterman, director of the Middle East
programme at the Washington-based Centre for Strategic Studies, food, energy and water
demand will continue to soar while the same commodities will become harder to obtain. As a
result, many existing political relationships are liable to break down. As countries in the Middle
East become more dependent on imports of food on other countries, they are also becoming
increasing reliant on other countries as well to their deficit. Countries such as Israel or Jordan
will be just as sensitive to floods in Australia and droughts in the United States as the yield in

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Egypt or Algeria. Though globalization makes all countries rely on each other for defensive,
economic and political reasons, the degree of reliance of the Middle East upon the rest of the
world will bring averse affects to the people in the Middle East and a single flood in Australia
may result in food riots, insurgent uprisings and famine all the way from Algeria to Iran. Thus, in
order to keep the region stable, policies must be implemented in order to combat the water crisis
in the Middle East.
In addition, the implementations of the policies are also crucial for the defense of many
nations. According to Mahmoud Shidiwah, chair of the Yemeni water and environment
protection agency, Water shortages have increased political tensions between groups. In fact,
water riots have already happened in the past and almost ended with the toppling of the Bolivian
government as seen in the Cochabamba water riots in 2000. Unfortunately, a failed government
in the Middle East (such as Pakistan or Israel/Palestine) could result in dire consequences.
According to James D. Fearson, they [failed governments in the Middle East] can become jihadi
training grounds or jihadi raw material export zones the disintegration of public health
systems raises the risk of pandemic viruses, among a long list of other consequences that may
result from a failed government in the Middle East. Fearon also notes a correlation between
failed states and the increase of jihadi movements as state failure encourages civilians to be
recruited and provides training grounds for these recruits. As more violent insurgents appear due
to water shortages, food shortages or even U.S military intervention, governments become

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increasingly prone to failure in the Middle East and the aftermath of state failure will be
extremely harmful to all countries.

The political realm of the Middle East makes the ability of other nations to salvage
failing governments extremely difficult. In fact, military intervention in order to keep the
populous orderly may have the opposite effect. However, it is definite that policies must be
implemented to combat the water crisis so that the Middle East will not fall into chaos and bring
harm unto other states as well. Thus, it is clear that surrounding countries ought to implement a
clear policy of water conservation so that the crisis in the Middle East does not worsen.

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Works Cited

Fearon, James D. "Instability In The Middle East." Hoover Institution. N.p., 7 May 2015. Web. 23 Sept.
2015.
Finnegan, William. "Leasing the Rain." PBS. PBS, 8 Apr. 2002. Web. 23 Sept. 2015.
Hamdan, Sara. "Water Conservation Becomes a Higher Priority in U.A.E."The New York Times. The New
York Times, 01 May 2013. Web. 23 Sept. 2015
Kasinof, Laura. "At Heart of Yemen's Conflicts: Water Crisis." The Christian Science Monitor. The
Christian Science Monitor, 5 Nov. 2009. Web. 22 Sept. 2015.
Maddocks, Andrew, Robert Samuel Young, and Paul Reig. "Ranking the World's Most Water-Stressed
Countries in 2040." Ranking the World's Most Water-Stressed Countries in 2040. World Resource Institute,
26 Aug. 2015. Web. 29 Sept. 2015
Vidal, John. "What Does the Arab World Do When Its Water Runs Out?"The Guardian. N.p., 19 Feb. 2011.
Web. 23 Sept. 2015