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Water Grabbing? The Coming Conflict Over The (Re)appropriation of Finite Water Resources
May 28th, 2011
Via Water Alternatives, an interesting call for papers on water grabbing: In many river basins in the world, water resources have become the object of increasing competition between food production and other sectors. The rush to acquire new lands as sources of alternative energy, food crops, and environmental services have led to the so called […]
Read more »Water As A Hidden Weapon In Libya?
May 28th, 2011
Via The Guardian, an interesting article on the potential that Libya’s enormous aquatic reserves could become a new weapon of choice if government forces opt to starve coastal cities that heavily rely on free flowing freshwater. As the article notes: With only five percent of the country getting at least 100 millimetres of rainfall per […]
Read more »African Land Grabs May Lead To Water Conflicts
May 26th, 2011
Via New Scientist, a report on how African land “grabs” may lead to future water conflicts: IS THIS the face of future water conflicts? China, India and Saudi Arabia have lately leased vast tracts of land in sub-Saharan Africa at knockdown prices. Their primary aim is to grow food abroad using the water that African […]
Read more »The Thirsty Dragon: Re-Nu’ed Momentum For Dams
May 26th, 2011
Via China Dialogue, an updated look at how once-defeated plans to build a cascade of dams on China’s Nu River are regaining momentum: The Nu River valley in Yunnan province – known as China’s Grand Canyon – sits at the epicentre of China’s seismic zone. This dramatic landscape is also wracked by torrential rains that […]
Read more »The Thirsty Dragon: The Push To Dam China’s Rivers
May 19th, 2011
Courtesy of Columbia University’s State of the Planet blog, an interesting look at China’s campaign to vastly expand its hydroelectric power (HEP) capacity, a technology that depends completely on the availability of abundant water, in the face of widespread drought. As the article notes: The Three Gorges Dam from the air. Photo credit: Euclid vanderKroew […]
Read more »Middle East Nations At ‘Extreme Risk’ of Water Shortages
May 19th, 2011
Via Arabian Business, a look at the water scarcity risk facing a number of Middle East nations: Gulf states the UAE, Oman and Kuwait have been named among the 10 nations with the “most extreme risk†of interruptions to water supply, risk-assessment consultants Maplecroft said. After Mauritania, which has the highest risk ranking of the […]
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