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California: Water Politics
October 27th, 2009
Courtesy of The Economist, a detailed look at California’s water politics as it struggles with drought and increasing demand for freshwater by a variety of end users, including fish. As the article notes: “…Water has divided Californians since Mark Twain remarked that “whiskey’s for drinking, water’s for fighting over.†But this latest conflict comes as […]
Read more »Melting Himalayan Ice Prompts Conflict Fear
October 20th, 2009
Courtesy of The Financial Times, a report on rising threat of conflict between India and Bangladesh – and possibly other parts of south Asia – as the availability of water in Himalayan-fed river systems that support 1.3bn people drops. As the article notes: On the outskirts of Kathmandu, capital of Nepal, climate researchers twiddle with […]
Read more »Nile Sharing…
October 15th, 2009
Via The East African, commentary on the desire of some downstream riparian countries to renegotiate allocation of water in the Nile River basin. As the article notes: “…Peaceful and collective negotiations must be encouraged in the quest for a comprehensive legal framework that can allow all the 10 states to equitably utilise the River Nile […]
Read more »Water And The Divided States Of America
October 13th, 2009
Courtesy of Circle of Blue, a highlight of the numerous (and growing) battles in the United States over freshwater. As the article notes: With floods across the Midwest, droughts along the Southwest, and legal inter-state skirmishes in the West and South—water issues are dividing the United States and challenging its citizens like never before. As […]
Read more »Water, Climate Change, and War Games
October 9th, 2009
Via Miller-McCune, a report that some nations’ war games are now including a climate change component. As the article notes: “The Tibetan Plateau is enormous — four times the size of Texas. Both the Yellow and Yangtze rivers issue from it, carrying the glacial runoff from the Himalayas to China. This runoff is a primary […]
Read more »Water Tension In Central Asia
October 9th, 2009
Courtesy of The Open Economy, a detailed look at the growing water crisis in Central Asia. We have covered this several times previously in this forum but, given the increasing severity and likelihood of transnational tensions, it seems useful to address it once again. As the article notes: “…At first glance, China’s neighbour Kyrgyzstan, with […]
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