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Syria: World’s First Water War?
September 11th, 2013
Via The Washington Post, a look at water’s impact on the Syrian war: Francesco Femia and Caitlin Werrell are co-founders of the D.C.-based Center for Climate and Security, a think tank focused on the interactions between climate change and security issues. In recent years, they’ve published a number of reports looking at the environmental roots of both the Arab […]
Read more »Libya: Difficulty In Maintaining Central Control Over Man Made River
September 11th, 2013
Via STRATFOR (subscription required), a brief look at Libya’s great man-made river project: The Libyan government restored functionality to a pipeline Sept. 8 used to deliver fresh water to the capital city of Tripoli, Libyan Water Resources Minister Alhadi Suleiman Hinshir said. The pipeline had been disabled since Sept. 3, after an attack in southern […]
Read more »Syria: Example Of Climate Change’s Impact
September 5th, 2013
Via Legal Planet, an interesting article on an assessment of environmental factors — in particular, a devastating drought — as the proximate cause of the Syrian civil war: [USDA Foreign Agricultural Service, Commodity Intelligence Report, May 9, 2008] In considering the complex and painful question of whether to intervene in Syria, policymakers should take a close […]
Read more »The Thirsty Dragon: China Wants Another Try at Myanmar Dam
September 5th, 2013
Courtesy of The Wall Street Journal, an update on China’s interest in the Myitsone dam: In a 2012 photo, a child walks on the banks of the Irrawaddy River in Kachin State, Myanmar. China hopes to resume a controversial dam project that the Myanmar government suspended two years ago, but only after the country goes […]
Read more »Restoring Mesopotamian Marshes: A Vision Of Regional Water Cooperation For The Middle East?
September 4th, 2013
Courtesy of Circle of Blue, an interesting article on the restoration of Iraq’s mesopotamian marshes which also offers a grander vision for regional water cooperation throughout the Middle East and elsewhere: Mesopotamian Marshland Map: NeNear the end of their 1,900- and 2,800-kilometer journey, the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, respectfully, feed into the Mesopotamian Marshlands of […]
Read more »The Thirsty Dragon: China To Supply Water To Taiwan’s Outlying Islands
September 4th, 2013
Via Focus Taiwan, a report on Chinese/Taiwanese water diplomacy: Taiwan and China have agreed to provide fresh water from the southeastern Chinese city of Jinjiang to the Taiwan-held outlying county of Kinmen, to solve a looming water shortage that is expected to hurt the county’s economic lifeline. The set of islands that make up Kinmen […]
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