ABSTRACT
Humankind’s need or inexorable desire to alter their surroundings, whether for better or for worse, has changed little over the centuries. The rich Mesopotamian marshlands known as the Fertile Crescent (i.e., the ancient region extending from the confluence of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers around the north of the Syrian Desert to the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea) stands out as an example of how an ancient people ingeniously utilized the meager water resources of a region to alter the agricultural productivity and vegetative landscape of an entire region. In the absence of soil and water stewardship, the resultant adverse effects upon the Fertile Crescent became irreversible. In part because of the degradation of the region to the semi-desert conditions that now prevail, the present inhabitants have on the whole a lower standard of living than its ancient inhabitants. Novotny and Olem (1994) assert that ‘‘the history of the Middle East shows that if land stewardship is absent, the well-being of the people who misuse the land and water resources declines.’’
