In an article entitled, "Water supplies in Syria deteriorating fast due to conflict, experts warn," found on environmentalhealthnews.org and published in the Guardian, it discusses the pressing issue of clean water in a war torn society. As John Vidal, an environment editor, stated the presence of droughts in Syrian communities has caused them to migrate and flee for their lives. In the past, Syria never really had a plentiful supply of water as farmers began moving from the rural areas to the cities after years of overexploitation. Especially now with the war, controlling infrastructure such as water is seen as a sign of power. The number currently stand as 4.3 million people who have fled to neighboring countries like Lebanon, Turkey, Jordan, and other European nations in hopes of better living conditions in the face of war. Neighboring country, Lebanon, has taken in around 1.8 million refugees that have in turn hindered their water supply. With migration at an all time high with Lebanon increasing by 30% in terms of population size, this puts the need of water in high demand. If water is in high demand, there is also higher generation of sewage that goes untreated which eventually results in more solid waste disposed of in dumps. This can be a direct example of what Paul Ehrlich stated, as a population increases, resources become limited and scarce which can pose a serious threat to the lives of all those who depend on it and beyond.
Water, food, and shelter are basic necessities that we take for granted. All humans should have access especially those in war torn areas. If we rely on only neighboring countries to take in so many people, it also negatively impacts their environment as well. Since John Vidal is an environmentalist, he may not have the perspective of a politician who may see why other countries may be afraid or unable to take in more refugees. Mei Fong may also stress the importance of a one child policy especially in a war torn area where many people tend to flee for their lives. I believe that more countries should take in more refugees to lessen the burden present especially 1st world countries that have easy access to fresh water. It is important to remember that we are all in this together as one Earth. The earth can only handle so many people in one location. Like they say, sharing is caring especially in a time of desperate need.
Article can be found here: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/sep/07/water-supplies-in-syria-deteriorating-fast-due-to-conflict-experts-warn
This is a really interesting article, I never thought about how lack of water was a reason as to why so many people fled! I like how you pointed out the lack of political reasoning in this article.
ReplyDeleteYou bring up some really important points in this post, but there a few clarifications that I'd like to add. One is that, though I'm completely delighted that you reference Mai Fong, I would describe her as oppositional to the one-child policy - she's very critical of the Chinese government's program. The other is that it is very difficult to disentangle conflict and environmental pressures, and it is a very active area of research. It's easy to attribute crises of the state to environmental problems, but these crises are often described in the humanitarian community as compound and complex emergencies, whereas the phrase 'overpopulation' can be oversimplifying.
ReplyDeleteHa! I'm logged into my son's gmail - this is me - Lisa Jordan.
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