James Madison University JMU Scholarly Commons Masters Theses The Graduate School Spring 5-7-2010 Desertification and political onstability in the Tigris and Euphrates River Basins Kanar Hamza James Madison University Follow this and additional works at: https://commons.lib.jmu.edu/master201019 Part of the Water Resource Management Commons Recommended Citation Hamza, Kanar, "Desertification and political onstability in the Tigris and Euphrates River Basins" (2010). Masters Theses. 423. https://commons.lib.jmu.edu/master201019/423 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the The Graduate School at JMU Scholarly Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Masters Theses by an authorized administrator of JMU Scholarly Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Desertification and Political Instability in the Tigris and Euphrates River Basins Kanar Hamza A thesis submitted to the Graduate Faculty of JAMES MADISON UNIVERSITY In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the degree of Master of Science Integrated Science and Technology May 2010 Dedication To Mom & Dad ii Acknowledgement This thesis would not have been possible without Dr. Wayne Teel’s support. I am grateful to him for being my thesis advisor. I thank Dr. Maria Papadakis and Dr. Jennifer Coffman for their contribution to my thesis as thesis committee members. I would like to thank the entire ISAT faculty and staff for their support during my studies at James Madison University. Many thanks to Kristen Shrewsbury from JMU Writing Center for her support in finishing this thesis. iii Table of Contents Dedication…………………………………………………………………………..………………………...ii Acknowledgment…………………………………………………………………….…………...……..…...iii List of Tables…………………………………………………………………………………………..…....vii List of Figures ......................................................................................................................... viii Abstract ...................................................................................................................................... x Chapter 1.................................................................................................................................... 1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................ 1 International Law and Transboundary Water Resources...................................................... 3 Water Shortage ................................................................................................................... 7 Chapter 2.................................................................................................................................. 10 Salient Physical, Social, and Economic Characteristics of the Tigris and Euphrates River Basins ................................................................................................................................... 10 Transboundary Agreements and Issues Within the Tigris-Euphrates Basins ....................... 11 Political Jurisdictions and Water Resources ...................................................................... 18 Population Pressures Within the Basins ............................................................................ 20 Annual Precipitation, Water Balance, and Expected Climate Change ................................ 24 Land Degradation and Desertification in Iraq ................................................................... 29 Turkish Economic Exploitation of Basin Water Resources ................................................. 32 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................ 34 Chapter 3 .................................................................................................................................. 36 Land Cover, Land Use, and Soil Erosion in Iraq ................................................................... 36 Land Characteristics in Northern Iraq ............................................................................... 39 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................ 45 Chapter 4.................................................................................................................................. 46 Factors that Lead to Desertification ...................................................................................... 46 Demographic Factors ................................................................................................ 47 Economic Factors ...................................................................................................... 49 Technology Factors ................................................................................................... 51 Policy Factor ............................................................................................................. 53 Climatic Factors ........................................................................................................ 54 Deforestation and Rangeland Modification factors .................................................... 56 Desertification and Conditions Unique to Iraq .................................................................. 58 iv Conclusion ............................................................................................................................ 61 Chapter 5.................................................................................................................................. 62 The Social, Economic, and Political impacts of Desertification on the Tigris-Euphrates Basin Nations ................................................................................................................................. 62 Iraq ................................................................................................................................... 63 Economic and Social impacts of Desertification on Iraq ................................................ 65 Conflicts Regarding Control Resources ............................................................................. 68 Environmental Instability Threats ......................................................................................... 70 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................ 75 Chapter 6.................................................................................................................................. 77 Managing the Tigris and Euphrates River Water Resources .................................................. 77 Chapter 7.................................................................................................................................. 84 Strategies to Combat Desertification in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region ................................. 84 Rain Water Harvesting (RWH) .......................................................................................... 84 Sudan ............................................................................................................................ 85 Egypt ............................................................................................................................. 86 Harvesting Rainwater in Iraq ........................................................................................ 88 RWH on farms system ........................................................................................ 88 Micro Catchment HRW System........................................................................... 88 Pitting ............................................................................................................ 89 Strip catchment tillage.................................................................................... 89 Contour bunds ............................................................................................... 89 Semi-circular bunds ....................................................................................... 90 Macro Catchment RWH system .......................................................................... 90 Terraces............................................................................................................. 90 Small Dams........................................................................................................ 91 Forestry systems to Combat Desertification ....................................................................... 92 Management of Natural Vegetation ........................................................................ 93 Agroforestry Systems ............................................................................................. 96 Sand Dune Fixation ............................................................................................... 98 National Parks and Genetic Resources................................................................. 100 Chapter 8................................................................................................................................ 102 Conclusions ........................................................................................................................ 102 v Appendix 1: Shows Natural trees forest (Native trees)-Kurdistan region-Iraq (Agrawi 2008). 107 Appendix 2: Exotic trees in the Kurdistan Region (Agrawi