Middle East
Old tensions, new threats: Climate change in post-Covid-19 Middle East written by Badis Khiari Millan Photo: VeggieTech, 2020.
The Middle East is known to be a very climatically diverse region. It includes Mediterranean and alpine environments in the Levant, scattered tropical ecosystems in Yemen and Oman, and wetlands in the Arabian Gulf. However, the vast majority is desert and scrubland. Little rain? Scorching heat? These are the notorious climatic conditions of the Middle East. Whilst civilisation first flourished on the banks of the Euphrates and Tigris, climate change today threatens the very agricultural foundations of the region. Since the Industrial revolution, temperatures have been rising at increasingly alarming rates. In this region, this is particularly dangerous as the already daunting conditions are easily exacerbated. Anthropogenic climate change and rising temperatures have worsened the already-challenging natural conditions of the Middle East, provoking a domino-effect in a positive feedback loop. Covid-19 has exposed these realities, while simultaneously aggravating them. It is known that rising temperatures increase water-scarcity and threaten both lives and living standards of Middle Eastern citizens. In the wake of the Covid-19 crisis, the perils of both physical and economic water scarcity have reared their ugly heads and amplified the impacts of water mismanagement and inequities. Physical water scarcity has long imperilled the desert peoples and restrained agriculture output. However, current unsustainable harvesting of groundwater, such as that in Ras Al Khaimah (UAE), is depleting aquifers and thus worsening the scarcity. This lack of water has critical implications for the effectiveness of the pandemic response efforts and further fuels post-Covid attempts to promote growth and build resilience. Although the issue of physical water scarcity has been successfully solved by the more developed Arab Gulf states i.e. KSA & Kuwait, the solutions came with their own problems. Through desalination plants that use reverse osmosis and other physical processes, salt is
removed from seawater, so that freshwater suitable for human consumption is produced. The issue with desalination is that the highly concentrated brine is splurged back into the sea. Excess brine enhances the naturally saline conditions of the Gulf, which is a threat to coral reefs and fish stocks. On the other hand, economic water scarcity exists when water is physically available but unattainable by locals. Whilst this form of water scarcity might not threaten all of the Gulf nations, it presents problems for the poorest Arab countries, such as war-torn Yemen. Yemen is suffering what some label as the greatest humanitarian crisis in history. Covid-19 is highlighting the result of a collective failure to uphold the most basic human right to water and sanitation. War, the violation of human rights, and lack of sanitation only render the Yemeni people more vulnerable to Covid-19. Jordan is another Arab nation threatened by aridity, particularly as its namesake river is drying up. The river has given life to the inhabitants of this region since time immemorial. However, intensive irrigation and climate change accelerate its depletion, threatening the nation’s agriculture, livelihood, and health of its people. With strict lockdown measures against Covid-19, the Jordanian monarchy did well in protecting its people, resulting in a relatively low number of cases. However, whilst the nation’s productivity might be put on hold during the lockdown, climate change does not pause with it. Aridity, drought, and desertification still threaten the agro-economies of the Middle East. Resuming farming activities could potentially cause a quick and unplanned rise in demand for irrigation water, risking overdrawing water and exasperating an already dire issue. Post-pandemic, the Kingdom should follow-through with the Ministry of Water and Irrigation’s plan of expanding combined desalination and groundwater capabilities in order to provide for their growing population and to protect the river’s supply. Covid-19
78
Dialogue • Autumn 2020
