http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/21/business/worldbusiness/21arabfood.html
Mideast Facing Choice Between Crops and Water
By ANDREW MARTIN
Published: July 21, 2008
CAIRO =97 Global food shortages have placed
the Middle East and North Africa in a quandary,
as they are forced to choose between growing
more crops to feed an expanding population or
preserving their already scant supply of water.
For decades nations in this region have drained
aquifers, sucked the salt from seawater and
diverted the mighty Nile to make the deserts
bloom. But those projects were so costly and
used so much water that it remained far more
practical to im****t food than to produce it.
Today, some countries im****t 90 percent or
more of their staples.
Now, the worldwide food crisis is making many
countries in this politically volatile region rethink
that math.
The population of the region has more than
quadrupled since 1950, to 364 million, and is
expected to reach nearly 600 million by 2050.
By that time, the amount of fresh water available
for each person, already scarce, will be cut in
half, and declining resources could inflame
political tensions further.
=93The countries of the region are caught between
the hammer of rising food prices and the anvil
of steadily declining water availability per capita,=94
Alan R. Richards, a professor of economics and
environmental studies at the Univ. of Cal, Santa
Cruz, said via e-mail. =93There's no simple solution.=94
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MAP: GROWING POPULATIONS:
Populations Are Expanding Fastest In Regions
Where it Is Most Difficult to Grow Food
The world's population is projected to grow
to 9 billion before 2050. Pro****tionally, the
countries in Northern Africa and the Middle
East are among the fastest growing. But
those are the world's driest regions, and by
2050, fresh water there will be twice as scarce.
Projected total population
in Millions 2008 2050 % change
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Sub-Sah. Africa 827 1,761 +113%
Mid. East/No Afr. 364 595 + 63
Oceania 35 49 + 41
World 6,750 9,191 + 36
Lat. Am./Carib 579 769 + 33
No. America 342 445 + 30
Asia 3,872 4,909 + 27
Europe 731 664 - 9
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