1. Middle East – Human-Environment interaction
Population Distribution & Environmental Issues
Middle East – Human-Environment interaction

2. Already KNOW
NEED to Know
Will Learn

3. Middle East? OR Near East? OR Southwest Asia? OR….?

4. Words to know Desalination Water Pollution
Unequal Distribution of Natural Resources
Literacy Rate
Desertification
Deforestation
Population Distribution

5. Graphic Organizer (Right Side)
Middle East Environmental Concerns

6. Major Environmental Issues
Water Supply
Very limited in Middle East
Many countries must use desalination to get drinking water
Process of removing salt from salt water to make it okay for drinking and farming
Tigris, Euphrates and Nile rivers
Used for drinking water and generate power
If you don’t have a river in your region, you must find alternate methods for drinking water and power.

7. N - J E T

8. The Mighty Nile River: “Longest River in the World”

9. Egypt: The “Gift of the Nile”
Nile Delta
Annual Nile Flooding
95% of the Egyptian people live on 5% of the land!

10. Few rivers in the area
Jordan River: Originating in the mountains of Israel, Lebanon, and Syria, the Jordan flows into the Dead Sea. The river is the key water source for Israel, Lebanon, and Syria. It is only 20 feet wide in some parts and only 17 feet deep at its deepest point!

11. Few rivers in the area
Tigris River: The Tigris and Euphrates Rivers are like twins, starting in the mountains of Turkey and running parallel to each other in some places. The Tigris was part of the cradle of the ancient Middle Eastern civilizations.

12. Few rivers in the area
Euphrates River: Runs parallel to the Tigris

13. Mesopotamia: ”Land Between the Two Rivers”
The Tigris & Euphrates River System
Mesopotamia: ”Land Between the Two Rivers”
Marsh Arabs,
Southern Iraq

14. Suez Canal: the Suez Canal connects the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea. It is called the ‘crossroads of Europe, Africa, and Asia” because it allows trade between all three continents.

15. Completed by the British in 1869
Suez Canal
Completed by the British in 1869

16. Persian Gulf: This shallow arm of the Arabian Sea between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula holds some of the most important oil fields in the world. Western countries call it the Persian Gulf but most Arab countries call it the Arabian Gulf.

17. Strait of Hormuz: This narrow waterway between the gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf is a critically important shipping channel. Much of the world’s oil supply passes through this strait.

18. Dead Sea: Lowest Point on Earth Highest Salt Content (33%)
2,300’ below sea level
Highest Salt Content (33%)

19. Bodies of Water Caspian Sea Black Sea Dardanelles Strait
Atlantic Ocean
Tigris River
Mediterranean Sea
Euphrates River
Jordan River
Suez Canal
Strait of Hormuz
Persian Gulf
Nile River
Gulf of Oman
Red Sea
Arabian Sea
Gulf of Aden
Indian Ocean

20. Gaza Strip: This area of 146 square miles is bordered on the south by Egypt, on the west by the Mediterranean Sea, and on the north and east by Israel. Disputes over this territory continue between Israel and the Palestinians.

21. Graphic Organizer (Right Side)
Water Supply
Few Rivers
Middle East Environmental Concerns

24. Major Environmental Issues
Literacy Rate-the ability to read and write, or the ability to use language to read, write, listen, and speak
Deforestation- forested areas converted into non-forest land for use such as arable land.

25. Major Environmental Issues
Desertification- land converted into desert due to various climatic variations, but primarily from human activities.
Soil Degradation- removal of fertilizer, nitrogen, and other substances need to grow crops.

26. Major Environmental Issues
Overgrazing- occurs when plants are exposed to livestock grazing for extended periods of time. It reduces the usefulness of the land and is one cause of desertification and erosion.

27. Major Environmental Issues
Rights to Water Supply
Disputes over rights to water supply and other natural resources in the region
Water rights
Agreements about how countries can use the water in a region.

28. Turkey: Snow melts in the highlands of Turkey and forms the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. This gives Turkey more water resources than most of its neighbors. However, pollution from agriculture, industries, and oil spils on the Black Sea is a problem.
Turkey, Syria, and Iraq: Turkey built dams along the Euphrates to use the water for hydroelectric power and irrigation. This reduced the amount of water reaching Syria. Syria in turn built a dam and reduced the river’s flow into Iraq. In 1975, Syria and iraq came close to fighting a war over the water issue.

29. Israel: Water consumption is up however rainfal is down
Israel: Water consumption is up however rainfal is down. More and more water is pulled from the Aquifer however very little is returned.
Iran: Similarly, Iran is using water from its Aquifer faster than it can be replenished.
Afghanistan: Poor infrastructure means open sewers, failed spetic systems, fertilizers, and pesticides are contaminating their shrinking water supply.

30. Saudi Arabia: Located in the middle of the Arabian Pennisula and within a desert, water for the Kingdom is very scarce. Most of the Kingdoms water supply comes from desalination.
WHAT IS DESALINATION?

31. Desalinization Plants

32. Major Environmental Issues
Israel, Jordan and Palestinians
Rely on the same scarce water supply on the West Bank
Israel has the most power – so they have the ability to claim more water.
What happens if they build a dam?
Recycle the water so many people have access to water without a major shortage

33. Many areas in the Middle East lack basic sewage systems

34. The lines coming from the tank are called the Leach Field; this is where excess water is drained away from the home.

35. Municipal Sewage Systems: Water Treatment Plan

38. Major Environmental issues
Water Pollution
Port cities
Ports make it easier to ship things
Water is often polluted by the shipping industry
Oil is the main export
Oil spills are one of the main causes for water pollution in the Persian Gulf

39. Graphic Organizer (Right Side)
Water Supply
Few Rivers
Middle East Environmental Concerns
Pollution

40. Summarizing Strategy – Think, Pair, Share (left Side, you pick one question)
How does a limited supply of water affect how nations treat each other?
Does the Middle East suffer from a small amount of water supply, unequal distribution of water, or both? Why???
How has water rights caused conflict in the Middle East?

41. Oil Distribution – World

42. Oil Distribution – Middle East

43. Oil Distribution

44. Oil Distribution World’s largest source of oil - Persian Gulf
Pollution issues – air and water
Damage to refineries during war
Not repairing damages
Oil Distribution is not even.
A few countries have most of the oil reserves.
Others, sometimes right next door, have no oil.
Pollution was a strategy used during war
Dumped oil into Persian Gulf
Burned oil wells to prevent USA from gaining control
Lack of water supply makes the pollution issue even bigger.

45. Saudi Oil Fields & Refineries

46. Oil Distribution
How does oil distribution impact the development of countries with and without oil?
Standard of Living - GDP
Literacy Rate
Dense populations in areas where oil is found.
Not all inhabitants are natives, many foreign workers brought in to work in the oil fields.

47. Standard of Living – Average Income

48. Literacy Rate

49. Summarizing Activity – Think-Pair-Share
If a country does not have oil fields, what type of economy do they have?
If a country is poor, what type of literacy rate do they have? Why???

50. Population Distribution
How do rivers and deserts impact where people live, where they work and how they travel?
People settle around the limited fresh water supply.
Civilizations concentrate around fertile soil.
People aren’t going to settle in a hot desert Why?
Crops are grown within these areas.
Subsistence Farming – Grow enough only for their families.
Most people within the Middle East were nomads (wander) within the desert regions. However, that changed in the 1950’s and 1960’s with the discovery of oil.
Now less than 1% of Saudi Arabians are nomads

51. Graphic Organizer (Right Side)
Water Supply
Few Rivers
Middle East Environmental Concerns
Population Distribution

52. Population Distribution

53. Natural Resources
Most economies in the Middle East were once based on farming.
Discovery oil – main source of income
Governments with large oil deposits stopped investing in other parts of their economies.
Countries without oil are poorer.

54. Land Use and Resources

55. Transportation
How do deserts and rivers impact transportation in the Middle East?
Rivers provide transportation routes
Remember There are few rivers in the region.
Deserts and mountains are transportation barriers
Difficult to produce and transport goods.

56. Graphic Organizer (Right Side)
Water Supply
Few Rivers
Middle East Environmental Concerns
Population Distribution
Transportation

57. Summarizing Activity 2 (Left hand side)
Draw the following:
How people live in this area: Housing
How people work in this area: Types of Industry? Cities? Towns?
How people travel in this area: Cars? Paved Roads? Water?

58. Summarizing activity – Think-Pair-Share
How has the development of the oil industry in the Middle East impacted other industries within those countries?