Bled dry: How the war in the Middle East is bringing the region to the brink of a water catastrophe - World | ReliefWeb
▻http://reliefweb.int/report/world/bled-dry-how-war-middle-east-bringing-region-brink-water-catastrophe
With heavy fighting continuing to tear apart Syria and Iraq, and many communities still recovering from conflicts in Lebanon, Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory, the region’s water resources and aging delivery systems are reaching their breaking point, according to a new report by the International Committee of the Red Cross.
Even without the devastating impacts of recent droughts and ongoing conflicts, many Middle East and Gulf states would be struggling to meet the basic water needs of growing urban populations and rising food production demands.
Now with some 7.6 million people displaced within Syria and some 3.8 million seeking safety in neighbouring countries — along with another 2.5 million displaced due to fighting in Iraq — the situation is even more critical.
“Water systems in the region are under great stress,” says Peter Maurer, president of the ICRC. “Water sources are being rapidly depleted and water infrastructure is being badly damaged in areas where local authorities were already hard pressed to meet the needs of growing populations. Massive displacement due to conflict is only amplifying the problem. If urgent efforts are not made, we will reach a breaking point. This is why we must act now to protect and preserve this most essential, life-giving resource.”
But record-low rainfalls, diminishing aquifers, overuse of scarce resources and the devastating impacts of conflict have made clean water increasingly difficult to come by. To make matters worse, warring parties sometimes target water and power-supply infrastructure or deliberately interrupt supplies for military or political gain.
“Using access to water as a tactic or weapon during conflict, or targeting water or energy facilities, not only violates the laws of armed conflict, it has very harmful effects on the lives of people whose health is already extremely vulnerable,” (...)
