From northern Africa to the Middle East, China and the U.S., 25 nations face chronic water shortages, and Starr predicts growing water scarcity, pollution and drought unless world leaders undertake regional water security pacts, aquifer cleanup, pollution control, sewage reclamation and coordinated planning of water and agricultural sectors. This compelling report focuses on the dispute among Israel, Jordan, the West Bank and Gaza over dwindling, increasingly contaminated water supplies but also discusses global food shortages; the "internal war" within Israel over whether to dismantle that nation's agriculture; Saddam Hussein's genocidal war against Iraq's southern "marsh Arabs"; the pollution of the Rio Grande and spreading epidemic hepatitis, cholera and cancer in the U.S.; and the 1992 Barth Summit in Rio. Starr is a Middle East expert and senior associate at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C. Illustrations not seen by PW.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
Water is one of the most important commodities in the Middle East. Competition for the control of the water resources will likely remain a potential source of regional conflict for many years to come. In this book, Starr focuses on the central role of water in determining not only future food production, land usage, and pollution but also political development in the Middle East. She traces the importance of water from biblical times to the present. Her book is jargon-free, and its narrative is easy to follow. As a senior associate of the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C., and a founder of a global water organization, Starr blends historical narrative with field observations to produce an accessible book for general readers.?Nader Entessar, Spring Hill Coll., Mobile, Ala.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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