Middle East Environmental Issues

Clean, increased

Contaminated, reduced

Clean, reduced

Contaminated, increased

Saudi Arabia

Israel

Jordan

Syria

The process of bringing water to dry land, especially for growing crops

The process of removing salt and other chemicals from seawater

The process of collecting water from underground aquifers

The process of flooding rivers to help crops grow

Turkey

Israel

Iraq

Syria

Jordan

The use of chemical fertilizers means crops must be watered constantly

Water supplies have been contaminated by the chemicals through runoff from the fields

Chemical fertilizers help take the salt out of water supplies in Southwest Asia (Middle East)

Enormous amounts of water must be used to produce chemical fertilizers

Dams are too expensive to build to be practical.

Dams limit the water available to countries further downstream.

Few countries have the technology needed to be able to build dams.

Countries in Southwest Asia are not allowed to build dams along shared rivers.

Turkey

Israel

Iraq

Syria

Jordan

Chemical fertilizers and irrigation

Chemical fertilizers, garbage, and sewage

Chemical fertilizers and desalination

Chemical fertilizers and nuclear waste

removing salt from water.

removing chemicals from water.

removing iron from water.

removing sulfur from water.

The process of bringing water to dry land, especially for growing crops

The process of removing salt and other chemicals from seawater

The process of collecting water from underground aquifers

The process of flooding rivers to help crops grow

Iraq, Iran, Syria

Turkey, Syria, Iraq

Turkey, Iran, Pakistan

Turkey, Jordan, Syria

Dams are too expensive to build to be practical.

Dams limit the water available to countries further downstream.

Few countries have the technology needed to be able to build dams.

Countries in Southwest Asia are not allowed to build dams along shared rivers.

Turkey

Iraq

Saudi Arabia

Syria

Suez Canal

Jordan River

Tigris River

Euphrates River

building dams

stealing it

using irrigation

desalination

5%

20%

5%

1%

Desalination

Naturalization

Absorption

Extraction

water and cotton

phosphates and oil

oil and natural gas

sulfur and natural gas