by Christine Drake

About the author: Christine Drake is a professor of geography in the Department of Political Science and Geography at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia.

In the Middle East, water may be more important than either oil or politics. While the area’s proven oil reserves are estimated to be sufficient for at least a hundred years, water supplies are already insufficient throughout the region, and competition for them is inevitably going to increase in the years ahead. Already there have been a number of clashes between countries over water, and several political leaders have suggested that future conflicts may well center on access to water, both surface and subsurface sources.

Water is, after all, the most basic of resources, critical to sustainable development in the Middle East...