Dr. Kaveh Madani makes appearances on CNN, Al Jazeera, and The World on Water Bankruptcy and Climate Impacts

Dr. Kaveh Madani was recently interviewed on a number of networks including Connect the World with Becky Anderson. Connect the World is a TV program hosted by Becky Anderson which discusses international news and affairs on CNN. On a recent airing of the program, CUNY CREST Institute’s Dr. Kaveh Madani made an appearance to discuss water bankruptcy in Middle East and resulting protests in Central Iran.

Iran is currently undergoing the worst drought it has faced in over 50 years, Becky explains.  “The problem in Iran has been created by decades of poor management, lack of foresight, and unsustainable development”, says Dr. Madani. Iran is suffering and has one of the worst ground water depletion rates (BBC). Thousands of citizens in Iran are protesting about the water shortages due to the drought. Farmers are one of the groups of citizens being the most impacted by the lack of water and have raising concerns about how to keep their crops thriving through this drought.

Dr. Madani has also been featured on Planet SOS, an environmental show presented by Al Jazeera which explores the issues around climate, nature and pollution, to discuss the Middle East’s approach to water bankruptcy and climate change. “The problem was the water was overused, so groundwater was extracted with no plan for what can happen in the future” says Dr. Madani. The impacts of industries, expanding agricultural lands, and the formation of dams led to malpractice and Iran is now suffering with the consequences. Climate change is one of the contributors to the problem and the best way to combat is to take action now.

Most recently, Dr. Madani appeared on The World, hosted by Carol Hills in which they discuss Iran’s water shortages and the resulting protests. The demand for water greater exceeds the amount of water available. When asked, “What is the solution to Iran’s water shortage, other than rain?”, Dr. Madani explains, “What needs to be done are the fundamental reforms to the water governance system in Iran to reduce the water consumption in the agriculture, you need to provide jobs in other sectors, alternative means of life for the farmers…”.

The links to these interviews are listed below.