Abstract
 Lines in the Sand: Sustainable Development in Iraq Track: Sustainable Development and Humanitarian Affairs Author(s): Ronald Harris, Bilal Haciogullari, Alaa Shams, Sinan Abood This paper compares historical maps of the Middle East with contemporary maps of Iraq to consider its sustainability given present territorial boundaries. Iraq was mostly shaped in 1916 by a secret Sykes-Picot agreement between Britain and France and the Lausanne Agreement of 1923 with Turkey. Following the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in World War I, the Allied powers divided the spoils of war and drew lines in the sand. Perennial border disputes, ethnic and religious conflicts should call into question whether historic division of the Ottoman Empire is sustainable. We use our geodatabase to develop maps for sustainable allocation of natural resources among the Iraqi people. Natural resources and demographics: hydrology, petroleum, agriculture, populations, ethnicity, religiosity, languages, are parameters in models. Using spatial analysis and model builder, we vary parameters to redraw the borders and project sustainable futures for people in the region. Ronald Harris LSU Health Sciences Center Health Policy and Systems Management 2021 Lakeshore Drive Suite 210 New Orleans , LA 70122 US Phone: (504) 280-1600 Fax: (504) 280-1516 E-mail: ruow@yahoo.com Bilal Haciogullari Southern University Ph.D. Program In Public Policy P.O. Box 9656 Rm. 412 Higgins Hall Baton Rouge , LA 70813 US Phone: (225) 771-2034 Fax: (225) 771-2384 E-mail: bilalhaci@gmail.com Alaa Shams Southern University Center for Coastal Zone Assessments and Remote Sensing Pinchback Engineering Rm. 390 Baton Rouge , LA 70813 US Phone: (225) 771-3704 Fax: (225) 771-3704 E-mail: alaashams@engr.subr.edu Sinan Abood Michigan Technological University Environmental Engineering 1400 Townsend Drive Houghton , MI 49931 US Phone: 906-487-1885 E-mail: saabood@mtu.edu |
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