Human-Environment InteractionNorth Africa and the Middle East

The Aswan High DamA dam on the Nile River in Egypt Completed in 1970 Increased Egypt’s farmable land by

50% (2-3 harvests per year)Protected farmable land from

droughts and floodsLake Nasser is the artificial lake

created behind the dam

Problems with the Dam

During construction, many people had to be relocated, including 1000s of Nubians, whose who way of life was permanently changed

Ancient sites either had to be moved or could not be saved – temples at Abu Simbel had to be moved; small ancient treasures now lie at the bottom of Lake Nasser

Problems with the Dam

Decreased the fertility of the soil The Nile no longer deposits its rich silt

(sediment) on the farmland, so farmers have to purchase expensive artificial fertilizer

Year round irrigation has resulted in a water table in Egypt

Floodwaters used to flush out the salt, but now expensive field drains have to be installed

Problems with the Dam

Rates of malaria and other diseases have increased due to greater numbers of mosquitos

Egyptians lose millions of gallons of fresh water due to evaporation because Lake Nasser holds the floodwaters

Water in the Middle EastAncient practices work well with

small fields but not large fieldsDams and irrigations systems

needed for large fieldsSeveral countries in the region use drip

irrigation – practice of using small pipes that slowly drip water just above ground to conserve water used for crops

Negev Desert in Israel

DesalinizationDesalinization is the removal of salt

from ocean water This is done at technically sophisticated

water treatment plants Water may be too salty to use for

irrigation so it is used in sewage systems

Very expensive and cannot provide adequate quantities of water to meet all the needs of people in the Middle East

Fossil WaterWater pumped from underground

aquifers is called fossil water because it has been in the aquifer for a long time

Fossil water has little chance of being replaced because the region has too little rainfall

It is estimated that at the current rate water is being pumped, only about 25 to 30 years of water usage remain

Impact of Oil on the LandPetroleum that has not been processed

is called crude oilCrude oil pumped from the ground must

be moved to a refineryThe job of a refinery is to convert the

crude oil into useful products Pipelines transport the crude oil either to

refineries or to ports where the oil is picked up by tankers and moved to other places for processing

Risks of Transporting Oil

Moving oil from one location to another always involves the risk of oil spills

The largest oil spill ever recorded occurred on January 1991 during the Persian Gulf War

A series of tankers and oil storage terminals in Kuwait and on islands off its coast were blown up

More than 24 million gallons of crude oil were spilled into the water and on land