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UN Transboundary Water Treaty Moves Forward As Cote d’Ivoire Approves Ratification
November 30th, 2013
Courtesy of Circle of Blue, a report noting that though three more ratifications are needed before the UN Watercourses Convention has the force of law, advocates assert that four countries are close: Ireland, Tanzania, the United Kingdom, and Vietnam. The Volta River watershed covers six countries in West Africa including Cote d’Ivoire, which recently ratified […]
Read more »Arab World Sinks Deeper Into Water Crisis
November 30th, 2013
Via Global Geopolitics, a report on the ever increasing Middle Eastern water crisis: A forward osmosis desalination plant at Al Khaluf in Oman. The Arab world is widely perceived as blessed with an embarrassment of riches: an abundance of oil (Saudi Arabia), one of the world’s highest per capita incomes (Qatar), and home to the […]
Read more »The Thirsty Dragon: China’s New Leadership Faces A Water Security Challenge
November 27th, 2013
Courtesy of Future Directions International, a report on China’s recently concluded China’s Third Plenum and, despite early signals indicate a shift towards more balanced development, the unlikeliness that environmental reform will be sufficient to avert the nation’s burgeoning food and water security crises: Background The Third Plenum of the Central Committee of the Communist Party […]
Read more »Conflict On The Nile: The Future Of Transboundary Water Disputes Over The World’s Longest River
November 25th, 2013
Via Future Directions International, an interesting article examining the shifting geostrategic currents in the Nile Basin and evaluating the potential for water crises and interstate conflict as upstream nations develop and Egypt’s reliance on the river increases: Key Points The Nile River has had a major impact on the interstate politics of the region through […]
Read more »The Parched Tiger: Water Scarcity And India’s Steel Companies
November 19th, 2013
Courtesy of The Economic Times, a report on India’s water stress and its impact on its steel industry: India has 18 percent of the world’s population and 4 percent of the globe’s water resources. According to a study by HSBC, India might be the most water-stressed among the Group of 20 nations by 2025. Water […]
Read more »The Thirsty Dragon: China’s Continued Growth Exacerbates Water Scarcity
November 19th, 2013
Courtesy of STRATFOR, an interesting video on China’s water water scarcity and the inevitable competition growing between economic sectors. Transcript is as follows: Yu the Great controls the waters. This ancient Chinese idiom perhaps best captures the almost primordial relationship between political legitimacy and the ability to manage water in China. From the beginnings of […]
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