Water conflict is a term describing a conflict between
countries, states, or groups over an access to water resources. The United
Nations recognizes that water disputes result from opposing interests of water
users, public or private. A wide range of water conflicts appear throughout
history, though rarely are traditional wars waged over water alone. Instead,
water has historically been a source of tension and a factor in conflicts that
start for other reasons. However, water conflicts arise for several reasons,
including territorial disputes, a fight for resources, and strategic advantage.
A comprehensive online database of water-related conflicts—the Water Conflict
Chronology—has been developed by the Pacific Institute. This database lists
violence over water going back nearly 5,000 years.
These conflicts occur over both freshwater and saltwater, and both between and within nations. However, conflicts occur mostly over freshwater; because freshwater resources are necessary, yet scarce, they are the center of water disputes arising out of need for potable water, irrigation and energy generation. As freshwater is a vital, yet unevenly distributed natural resource, its availability often impacts the living and economic conditions of a country or region. The lack of cost-effective water supply options in areas like the Middle East, among other elements of water crises can put severe pressures on all water users, whether corporate, government, or individual, leading to tension, and possibly aggression. Recent humanitarian catastrophes, such as the Rwandan Genocide or the war in Sudanese Darfur, have been linked back to water conflicts.
A recent report "Water Cooperation for a Secure World" published by Strategic Foresight Group concludes that active water cooperation between countries reduces the risk of war. This conclusion is reached after examining trans-boundary water relations in over 200 shared river basins in 148 countries, though as noted below, a growing number of water conflicts are sub-national.
According to the 1992 International Conference on Water and the Environment, water is a vital element for human life, and human activities are closely connected to availability and quality of water. Unfortunately, water is a limited resource and in the future access "might get worse with climate change, although scientists' projections of future rainfall are notoriously cloudy" writes Roger Harrabin. Moreover, "it is now commonly said that future wars in theMiddle East are more likely to be fought over water than
over oil," said Lester R. Brown at a previous Stockholm Water Conference.
Water conflicts occur because the demand for water resources and potable water can exceed supply, or because control over access and allocation of water may be disputed. Elements of a water crisis may put pressures on affected parties to obtain more of a shared water resource, causing diplomatic tension or outright conflict.
11% of the global population, or 783 million people, are still without access to improved sources of drinking water which provides the catalyst for potential for water disputes. Besides life, water is necessary for proper sanitation, commercial services, and the production of commercial goods. Thus numerous types of parties can become implicated in a water dispute. For example, corporate entities may pollute water resources shared by a community, or governments may argue over who gets access to a river used as an international or inter-state boundary.
The broad spectrum of water disputes makes them difficult to address. Local and international law, commercial interests, environmental concerns, and human rights questions make water disputes complicated to solve – combined with the sheer number of potential parties, a single dispute can leave a large list of demands to be met by courts and lawmakers.
Water’s viability as a commercial resource, which includes fishing, agriculture, manufacturing, recreation and tourism, among other possibilities, can create dispute even when access to potable water is not necessarily an issue. As a resource, some consider water to be as valuable as oil, needed by nearly every industry, and needed nearly every day. Water shortages can completely cripple an industry just as it can cripple a population, and affect developed countries just as they affect countries with less-developed water infrastructure. Water-based industries are more visible in water disputes, but commerce at all levels can be damaged by a lack of water.
International commercial disputes between nations can be addressed through the World Trade Organization (WTO), which has water-specific groups like aFisheries Center
According to Aaron Wolf, et all. there were 1831 water conflicts over transboundary basins from 1950–2000. They categorized these events as following:
A comprehensive chronology of water-related conflicts is maintained by the Pacific Institute in their Water Conflict Chronology, which includes an open-source data set, an interactive map, and full information on citations. These historical examples go back over 4,500 years. In this dataset, water conflicts are categorized as follows:
Water conflicts can occur on the intrastate and interstate levels. Interstate conflicts occur between two or more neighboring countries that share a trans-boundary water source, such as a river, sea, or groundwater basin. For example, theMiddle
East has only 1% of the world's freshwater shared among 5% of the
world's population. Intrastate conflicts take place between two or more parties
in the same country. An example would be the conflicts between farmers and
industry (agricultural vs industrial use of water).
According to UNESCO, the current interstate conflicts occur mainly in the Middle East (disputes stemming from the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers among Turkey, Syria, and Iraq; and the Jordan River conflict among Israel, Lebanon, Jordan and the State of Palestine), in Africa (Nile River-related conflicts among Egypt, Ethiopia, and Sudan), as well as in Central Asia (the Aral Sea conflict among Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan). At a local level, a remarkable example is the 2000Cochabamba protests in Bolivia
Some analysts estimate that due to an increase in human consumption of water resources, water conflicts will become increasingly common in the near future.
In 1979, Egyptian President Anwar Sadat said that ifEgypt Ethiopia
These conflicts occur over both freshwater and saltwater, and both between and within nations. However, conflicts occur mostly over freshwater; because freshwater resources are necessary, yet scarce, they are the center of water disputes arising out of need for potable water, irrigation and energy generation. As freshwater is a vital, yet unevenly distributed natural resource, its availability often impacts the living and economic conditions of a country or region. The lack of cost-effective water supply options in areas like the Middle East, among other elements of water crises can put severe pressures on all water users, whether corporate, government, or individual, leading to tension, and possibly aggression. Recent humanitarian catastrophes, such as the Rwandan Genocide or the war in Sudanese Darfur, have been linked back to water conflicts.
A recent report "Water Cooperation for a Secure World" published by Strategic Foresight Group concludes that active water cooperation between countries reduces the risk of war. This conclusion is reached after examining trans-boundary water relations in over 200 shared river basins in 148 countries, though as noted below, a growing number of water conflicts are sub-national.
Causes of Water Wars
According to the 1992 International Conference on Water and the Environment, water is a vital element for human life, and human activities are closely connected to availability and quality of water. Unfortunately, water is a limited resource and in the future access "might get worse with climate change, although scientists' projections of future rainfall are notoriously cloudy" writes Roger Harrabin. Moreover, "it is now commonly said that future wars in the
Water conflicts occur because the demand for water resources and potable water can exceed supply, or because control over access and allocation of water may be disputed. Elements of a water crisis may put pressures on affected parties to obtain more of a shared water resource, causing diplomatic tension or outright conflict.
11% of the global population, or 783 million people, are still without access to improved sources of drinking water which provides the catalyst for potential for water disputes. Besides life, water is necessary for proper sanitation, commercial services, and the production of commercial goods. Thus numerous types of parties can become implicated in a water dispute. For example, corporate entities may pollute water resources shared by a community, or governments may argue over who gets access to a river used as an international or inter-state boundary.
The broad spectrum of water disputes makes them difficult to address. Local and international law, commercial interests, environmental concerns, and human rights questions make water disputes complicated to solve – combined with the sheer number of potential parties, a single dispute can leave a large list of demands to be met by courts and lawmakers.
Economic and Trade Issues
Water’s viability as a commercial resource, which includes fishing, agriculture, manufacturing, recreation and tourism, among other possibilities, can create dispute even when access to potable water is not necessarily an issue. As a resource, some consider water to be as valuable as oil, needed by nearly every industry, and needed nearly every day. Water shortages can completely cripple an industry just as it can cripple a population, and affect developed countries just as they affect countries with less-developed water infrastructure. Water-based industries are more visible in water disputes, but commerce at all levels can be damaged by a lack of water.
International commercial disputes between nations can be addressed through the World Trade Organization (WTO), which has water-specific groups like a
Fishing rights and pollution are common economic issues.
Classifications of Water
Conflicts
According to Aaron Wolf, et all. there were 1831 water conflicts over transboundary basins from 1950–2000. They categorized these events as following:
- No water-related events on the extremes
- Most interactions are cooperative
- Most interactions are mild
- Water acts as irritant
- Water acts as unifier
- Nations cooperate over a wide variety of
issues
- Nations conflict over quantity and
infrastructure
A comprehensive chronology of water-related conflicts is maintained by the Pacific Institute in their Water Conflict Chronology, which includes an open-source data set, an interactive map, and full information on citations. These historical examples go back over 4,500 years. In this dataset, water conflicts are categorized as follows:
- Control of Water Resources (state and non-state
actors): where water supplies or access to water is at the root of
tensions.
- Military Tool (state actors): where water
resources, or water systems themselves, are used by a nation or state as a
weapon during a military action.
- Political Tool (state and non-state actors):
where water resources, or water systems themselves, are used by a nation,
state, or non-state actor for a political goal.
- Terrorism (non-state actors): where water
resources, or water systems, are either targets or tools of violence or
coercion by non-state actors.
- Military Target (state actors): where water
resource systems are targets of military actions by nations or states.
- Development Disputes (state and non-state
actors): where water resources or water systems are a major source of
contention and dispute in the context of economic and social development
Notable Water Conflicts
Water conflicts can occur on the intrastate and interstate levels. Interstate conflicts occur between two or more neighboring countries that share a trans-boundary water source, such as a river, sea, or groundwater basin. For example, the
According to UNESCO, the current interstate conflicts occur mainly in the Middle East (disputes stemming from the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers among Turkey, Syria, and Iraq; and the Jordan River conflict among Israel, Lebanon, Jordan and the State of Palestine), in Africa (Nile River-related conflicts among Egypt, Ethiopia, and Sudan), as well as in Central Asia (the Aral Sea conflict among Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan). At a local level, a remarkable example is the 2000
Some analysts estimate that due to an increase in human consumption of water resources, water conflicts will become increasingly common in the near future.
In 1979, Egyptian President Anwar Sadat said that if
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