Men Against the Desert

A short but interesting book, based on the deserts of Algeria, Tunisia, Libya (Tripolitania & Cyrenaica at the time) Egypt, Iraq, Persia and Israel.

The author is appointed by UNESCO to travel to these places, meet with the leading scientists in each area and summarise the steps that are being taken, and advances being made in returning the desert areas to productive zones. It is recognised that it was not long ago that many of these areas were successfully supporting large populations, and it is mans actions that have deforested the deserts, and altered or diverted waterways which were previously successful.

Written in 1951, shortly after the authors travels, this is a time of post WW2 controls over many of these lands - Algeria and Tunisia in French colonial control; Tripolitania and Cyrenaica were about to merge to form Libya, formerly Italian provinces, but administered by the British (for another year, before King Idris took the reins); Egypt in British administration, Iraq in British occupation, Persia was its own thing, and Israel recently formed.

Calder's travels were to engage with the French and British scientists who were already working there on hydrology and geological works, also with archaeologists who advised on what was there previously in prior civilisations, and other scientists of similar benefit.

Calder, at the time was the Science Editor of the News Chronicle, so he is able to write in clear and concise way. To share information and opinion, reinforcing a topic cleverly without continual repetition, even though the message is the same. He also has a clear understanding of the principles and research that he describes, and is able to provide the detail in a way the general public can understand.

There were, at the time many excellent and successful initiatives under way, in that time before climate change advanced the odds against them. Culture was a significant obstacle - it often took a very long time to convince the (usually nomadic) native people that the initiatives would benefit them as well as others - and to change the ways of these people in small but significant ways. For example, encouraging them to stop destroying all trees and bushes which in turn fix the shifting dunes and eventually make the land arable. To do this, they had to provide alternative means of making fire - providing burners and providing oil for example (which worked in small scale trials, but was surely doomed in a large scale).

In other schemes, where multiple country coordination was required, the reader can now (with hindsight) see that this was fine while under colonial administration, but once these countries return to self rule are unlikely to cooperate as required. There are of course examples where this does work - Egypt and Sudan and Uganda manage Nile dams for the benefit of all three countries; and there are examples where this will just not work - Israel relying on Arab cooperation for a Jordan River scheme that was proposed to generate significant hydro electric power, and improve irrigation.

The Postscript descibes how many of the proposals were put into operation on Cyprus. Cyprus was considered a small enough scale, and had typical problems with goats destroying trees, subsidence and crop failure as a result etc, and by changing the behaviour of the nomadic grazers this was all improved. Again: small scale = manageable.

Overall, it was an excellent read, but remains a snapshot of history. What would be excellent is a summary of where things were twenty years later, and then 20 years later again. Probably pretty depressing reading though. Having said that I have not done any specific research into any of the schemes, and there could well be some that came to fruition.

One quick quote, as I found it amusing: P58

In the first streaks of dawn we pulled up in an Arab village in front of a lighted booth. It was the Tunisian equivalent of a fish and chip shop, but what was frying was not fish. An Arab, seated like a Buddha on a high altar among fumes, not of incense, but of olive oil, with a bowl of stiff batter on his knees, was making ftaier. These were pancakes or fritters which he slapped into the boiling fat. Smothering them with sugar he plonked them, fried fish fashion, into an Arab newspaper. We ate this oily indelicacy - printers ink and all - with relish and then adjourned to a nearby coffee bar, where, with the Arab workmen, we washed the oil down with syrupy coffee. In retrospect this meal makes me feel queasy. In Tunisia, it set me up for the day.