Ecological and Environmental Characteristics of the Arab world.

The Arab world stretches from the Atlantic Ocean in the west, through North Africa to the Arab gulf and Iran in the east, Turkey and the Mediterranean Sea in the north, the African Sub Sahara, and southern Sudan in the south. The Arab world covers an area equal to 5.3 million sq. miles, which is comparable to the 3.6 sq. mile size of the United States. Nearly 70% of Arab land is barren desert and it has been classified as one of the driest regions in the world. The 20-25% of land that is under cultivation is dependent on rainfall. In addition to this, 5-8% of the land depends on irrigation from the Nile, Euphrates and Tigris Rivers, all of which start outside the boundaries of the Arab world.
The Arab world in particular, and the Middle East in general, have been impacted by the global increase in temperatures. There has been a decrease in rainfall and an expansion of desertification. The recent international conference held in Copenhagen (Dec. 2009), which focused on the impact global warming has on the planet, ended without an official treaty limiting carbon emissions. These have a devastating effect on the global environment. The Copenhagen conference fell short of the key goal, which was to draft a treaty. The tragic effects of global weather warming have impacted the developing nations in Africa and the Middle East in particular. The damage has been caused by the advanced and industrial Western world and the recently industrialized countries of China and India.
The International Bank issued a report (2007) in which it noted the 48 countries that will be affected the most from the global environmental changes. Egypt was listed among others that are experiencing the negative impact of the global weather changes. Furthermore, the Arab countries are experiencing less rain and more frequent droughts with longer durations, in addition to more agricultural land being overtaken by the increase in desertification.