grey boy 2
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October 21, 2009
Water wars show we should we should all work together Dan Smith: Analysis
Water wars show we should all work together - Times Online
So far there have been very few violent international conflicts over water the record between states is good. But this may change and two areas are already causes for concern.
One is localised, tribal conflict, especially in weak states that do not have the capacity to control or limit internal fighting. The other is climate change: if the water scenario is altered in areas such as northeastern India, Nepal, Bangladesh, East Africa or the Nile Basin, either floods or droughts could provoke violence. Long-term drought was one of the background issues in the Darfur conflict.
In the future the Sahel belt, south of the Sahara, and the Middle East are areas of greatest concern as populations swell and climate change takes effect.The conflicts known as water wars are about the interplay between nature and politics; it is impossible to say which is more important. Struggles over resources are common; the question is whether they can be managed without violence. The world does not face absolute overpopulation it is a case of more people in particular areas than those areas can support. Somewhere else, there will be a surplus.
Both population growth and global warming pose huge problems for this planet but we do have the resources and the capacity to manage them. What we face is a lack of will, rather than a fundamental lack of the resources themselves.
We face an unprecedented combination of challenges and we need to co-operate on every level. For instance, water treatment such as desalination presents two problems: cost and possible environmental side-effects. A nation such as Yemen cannot solve these alone. This is why it is crucial for the international community to act together to solve regional issues.
Dan Smith is the secretary general of International Alert and co-author of the report A Climate of Conflict (2007)
Water wars show we should we should all work together Dan Smith: Analysis
Water wars show we should all work together - Times Online
So far there have been very few violent international conflicts over water the record between states is good. But this may change and two areas are already causes for concern.
One is localised, tribal conflict, especially in weak states that do not have the capacity to control or limit internal fighting. The other is climate change: if the water scenario is altered in areas such as northeastern India, Nepal, Bangladesh, East Africa or the Nile Basin, either floods or droughts could provoke violence. Long-term drought was one of the background issues in the Darfur conflict.
In the future the Sahel belt, south of the Sahara, and the Middle East are areas of greatest concern as populations swell and climate change takes effect.The conflicts known as water wars are about the interplay between nature and politics; it is impossible to say which is more important. Struggles over resources are common; the question is whether they can be managed without violence. The world does not face absolute overpopulation it is a case of more people in particular areas than those areas can support. Somewhere else, there will be a surplus.
Both population growth and global warming pose huge problems for this planet but we do have the resources and the capacity to manage them. What we face is a lack of will, rather than a fundamental lack of the resources themselves.
We face an unprecedented combination of challenges and we need to co-operate on every level. For instance, water treatment such as desalination presents two problems: cost and possible environmental side-effects. A nation such as Yemen cannot solve these alone. This is why it is crucial for the international community to act together to solve regional issues.
Dan Smith is the secretary general of International Alert and co-author of the report A Climate of Conflict (2007)
