International Journal of Humanities and Social Science Vol. 1 No. 2; February 2011 167 Levels of Concern about Water Problems in Five Arab Countries Madalla A. Alibeli, Ph.D. Assistant Professor of Sociology Department of Sociology, Gerontology, and Political Sciences The University of Louisiana at Monroe Phone: (318) 342-1814, E-mail: Alibeli@ulm.edu A. Damien Yaghi, Ph.D. Assistant Professor of Political Science, Department of Political Science Al A‟in University, Al A‟in, UAE P.O. Box 15551 E-mail: abdulfattah@uaeu.ac.ae Abstract Levels of concern about water problems in five Arab countries including Bahrain, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Kuwait are examined in this study. Opinions about water pollution, underground water, desalinated water, and an inadequate management of wastewater were explored. In particular, respondents were asked whether they agree that: (a) water problems are very serious environmental problems, and (b) whether these problems deemed to be the most serious environmental problems in their countries. Results show that while most of water-related problems were considered serious, almost none of them were seen as the most serious environmental problem. All, but the Saudi sample believed that Ozone layer depletion, not water, is the most serious environmental problem in these five countries. Keywords: Water problems, Environmental concern, Water resources, Arab Word. Introduction The terrain of the Arab World and its surrounding (AWS) has one of the driest natural environments in the world. Scarcity of water pose enormous social, economic, and political challenges for countries like Bahrain, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait (BJSQK). Without a doubt, scarcity of water in BJSQK spawns many other problems. Dealing with a serious problem like this requires higher levels of public concern about water and effective and efficient water public policy (Yaghi, 2004; World Bank, 2006; Gill, 1999). Despite the need for wide-ranging environmental studies in the AWS region, attempts to answer such question have been very few (See, Alibeli and Johnson, 2009). Undoubtedly, environmental concern in the Arab World was overlooked by major cross-cultural studies conducted like Dunlap, Gallup, and Gallup, 1993; Alec M. 1993; Strohm, 2002; Jacobs, 2002; Inglehart, 1995; Tuna, 1998; Zelezny, Chua, and Aldrich, 2000). Indeed, we know far less about levels of environmental concern in the Arab World than we know about it in many other regions. To bridge a gap in the literature, the current study examines levels of concern about water problems among samples of college students in BJSQK. Although college students do not represent the general public, their views may provide a glimpse of the way the larger communities perceive water and its related problems (see, Ozden, 2008; Bowman, 1977). Environmental Concern Environmental concern including concern about water is best described as “the degree to which people are aware of problems regarding the environment and support efforts to solve them and or indicate the willingness to contribute personally to their solution” (Dunlap and Jones, 2002: 485). Environmental sociologists prefer using “concern” instead of “attitude”: concern in this respect implies a positive attitude toward the environment compared to the neutral “attitude” (See, Van Liere & Dunlap, 1980: 181; Adelabu & Akinsolu, 2009). Regardless of terminological differences, environmental concerns or having positive attitude toward the environment is considered “a prerequisite to building a culture that cares about the environment and work to challenge the conditions imposed by environmental problems like scarcity of water” (Bell, 2005: 181). Factors affecting Environmental Concern Concern about the environment is influenced by, but not limited to, national country, economic development, and socioeconomic and demographic factors. In terms of this, a number of cross-cultural studies examined the effect of national country and economic development on concern about the environment across scores of developing and developed nations. For example, after studying environmental concern in 24 developed and developing countries, Dunlap, Gallup, and Gallup (1993: 36) found that “residents in poor nations expressed as much concern about environmental quality as do those living in wealthy nations.” Although Inglehart (1995) conceded Dunlap‟s finding, he claimed that environmental concern in the developing nations is no more than a reactive response to elevated air contamination, high levels of water pollution, and other environmental risk to humans and human health.