If I could travel back in time to advise Middle Eastern leaders about water resources, I would be very nervous to do so. I would need a lot more knowledge and training than I already have about water so that I would sound smart and have solid solutions. I was interested in the water crisis of Syria and Jordan. Syria is running out of water but the civil war refugees are fleeing to Jordan, a country that already has trouble providing water to their people. Jordan is now in more danger of running out of water due to the influx of demand. Based on the knowledge I have now about the issue I would advise them to be aware of potential water problems in the future. I would advise them to draft treaties and agreements on sharing water rights and conserving rivers and lakes. Jordan currently has many wells but experts are worried the water contained in them will only last a few years. I would recommend that they construct a solid water pipeline (one that does not leak). I would also recommend that they find ways to capture and use rainwater (during wet seasons) and recycle water.

What would I recommend they keep the same? I would say that Jordanians have been very good about conserving water because they have always struggled with their water resources. I would say keep doing that. I feel this is something we should all be doing to conserve water. Only use what you need, and don’t waste any.

What would I recommend they do differently? I understand how tense it may be when you have such strong religions battling for a sacred resource, however I feel religion and greed need to be put aside. The leaders of these countries need to step up and make hard decisions and maybe enlist people to help them come up with new ideas on how to conserve water. If changes aren’t made, who knows what may happen.

I’m not sure that the leaders would view my recommendations as worth implementing. If they value the opinions of their people, then I think they would. I worry that because I am not apart of their country they would be offended that I am coming in and pointing out insufficiencies.

The three pieces of information that I think I would need from the past are:

1. History of droughts and rainfall patterns. This might be a good indicator of what may happen in the future.
2. I know global warming is a current issue but it has been occurring over years. I would think data on how global warming may have been and how it currently is affecting these regions could be important information to have.
3. Documents or plans on why they built water systems. Why did they choose this way? How was it beneficial to them at the time?

To start looking for these answers I would go to the library. The librarian would be very helpful in finding these resources and pointing me in the right direction. I could use the internet but it might take longer to find valuable information.

If I could turn back time I would offer some good advice that I learned while reading these articles. I would first start by telling Turkey, Iraq, and Syria that by cutting water and resources off from one another, will not solve anything at all. Some good advice for them would be better management. From reading these articles it seemed as though they were to busy fighting with one another over water that they just kept making the situation worse. Stop, think, and manage would have been a lot more useful during these tough times. Management will do wonder when you actually sit down and analyze a situation and take action on it. They could have also tried recycling their water, which by doing that it would also take management. By recycling their water they would not have had the conflict of sucking their aquifers dry. Aquifers are non replenish able, that seems very scary. Although with proper action this issue could be reduced.

I do think that leaders would view my suggestions of better management, and recycling worth implementing. Its amazing at how much easier and rational things can be when everyone quits fighting and puts their heads together, I understand this was a time of war but they did more than just kill people, they killed their water supply at their own fault.

Some pieces of information that I would need that I did not get while reading these articles would be their global warming and climate conditions during this time. Today this type of information comes in very handy when deciding how they will manage their water. Also things such as rainfall are very important to know. What were their water laws? who made the decisions and why? Did they have any actual knowledge of the system or were they just born into the position?