ABSTRACT

In the eyes of many, water is still an abundant resource. In places where scarcity is a daily reality, few feel any sense of responsibility to resolve the problem. The attitudes and beliefs of the general public however also influence political decision making—or the lack of it, which makes it possible to uphold the status quo. In Egypt where approximately 85 percent of the water goes to agriculture and water scarcity forms a serious threat, agriculture is still being expanded. Desert land is being reclaimed while unemployed law graduates are being put to work as farm hands. Politicians in the Middle East are eager to maintain stability in their country. Confronting the imminent threat of large-scale water shortage and the inevitable social and economical reforms that go with it obviously does not fit into this political program. By anticipating the consequences of water scarcity, one is pre-empting the large-scale population migrations that some predict.