Conflict Over Water in West Asia: Sharing of Trans-Border Rivers

Water remains a highly sensitive political issue in West Asia given the acute shortage in the region that has the world’s second fatest growing population. Periodic flare-up of hostility among the riparian states over the distribution of the waters of the Trans-border Rivers has led many analysts to predict that the next war in West Asia will be over water. This book, however, attempts to develop an argument that hydro-politics in West Asia is not necessarily centered on competition for access to freshwater supplies, contributing to the risk of violent confrontations between states. Its focused study of three major rivers – Jordan, the Nile and the Euphrates-Tigris – reveals the possibilities of sustainable solution to the region’s water problem through cooperation, equitable sharing and efficient utilization among the involved parties.