Rivers Of Fire » (1st Edition)

In a never-ending battle to match population growth with food and energy production, the countries of the Middle East have been frenziedly developing water resources without considering their neighbors' needs. The inevitable result has been more frequent and increasingly bitter conflicts. At the same time, a halting Arab-Israeli peace process continues. Are we indeed entering a new era in a new Middle East? Focusing on international rivers and ground water, this timely study provides thoughtful_if pessimistic_answers to this question. Examining each water source in the Middle East, Soffer also weighs the implications of going to war over water and such unconventional solutions to the water shortage as desalination and importation.

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The bulk of this volume is dedicated to explicating the underlying causes of conflict over water sources in the nations of the Middle East. Rivers under consideration include the Nile, Tigris, Euphrates, Orontes, Jordan, and Litani rivers. Also looked at is international groundwater disagreements in the region. After this discussion Soffer (geography, U. of Haifa) proposes a number of solutions towards easing conflict over these resources. Translated from the Hebrew work . Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)