Deficient Developmental Planning Leading to Water Conflicts across Political Borders: The Way Forward

Abstract

In this article, Turkey, Iran and Syria in the Middle East area are taken as examples for deficient planning and development of water resources shared with their downstream countries resulting in severe social, economic and political percussions to these neighbors. The current situation in the Middle East with wars against terrorism, uprising of population groups, and COVID-19 Pandemic have not allowed the affected countries Jordan, Iraq and Syria to properly react to the assaults of upstream water development and diversions on their fair shares in the transboundary waters. The rivers’ upstream developmental schemes have not taken advantages of recent advanced technological knowhow of water efficient development and use, seemingly because the arising water problems and catastrophes will not affect these upstream countries, but their downstream neighbors. Although, it is by now known that pressurized water conveyance system relative to canals saves 10% - 20% of the transmitted water, and drip and sprinkler irrigation require only 40% - 50% of the water used in surface and furrow irrigation, that is in addition to agricultural production increases when using advanced management strategies. As enhancing policies, tradeoffs between downstream and upstream countries are thought of as a strategic option to improve the water use efficiency in upstream countries in order to help downstream countries in obtaining their fair shares of the transboundary water resources.