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In Middle East, It Could Soon Be A Battle For Water
August 18th, 2014
Via Down To Earth, an interesting article on how, along with scarcity induced by population pressure, use of water as a weapon of war is also draining resources in the Middle East: Raining rockets and bombs or threat of Islamic State (IS) jihadists are not the only emergencies in the countries of West Asia. The […]
Read more »Water, Power, And Competition In Asia
August 18th, 2014
In Asian Survey’s Vol. 54, No. 4 (July/August 2014), a new article by Brahma Chellaney examining how Asia is at a defining moment in its history, with water stress having emerged as one of its most serious challenges, stirring not only geopolitical tensions by intensifying competition over the resources of shared rivers and aquifers, but […]
Read more »The Thirsty Dragon: Avoiding Hydro Wars
August 13th, 2014
Courtesy of China Water Risk, a look at concerns building over China’s transboundary hydropower expansion: Highlights -China’s hydro can power the whole of India by the end of 2015 but only 6.5% of this is from transboundary rivers -Hydro is expected to be 500GW by 2050; 30% of this will be from Mekong, Salween […]
Read more »Islamic State Militants Threaten Turkey If Euphrates Water Supply Not Restored
August 12th, 2014
Via RT, a report on the Islamist militant group ISIS’ threats to Turkey over water supplies: The Haditha Dam Islamic State militants have directly threatened Turkey with violence as they swore to “liberate” Istanbul in order to reopen a dam on the Euphrates River. Water flow to parts of Syria and Iraq is at a […]
Read more »Three International Water Conflicts To Watch
August 11th, 2014
Via Geopolitical Monitor, a look at three regions where water conflicts have the potential for boiling over: China-India: The Brahmaputra River The Brahmaputra River is a 2,900 km river that originates in Tibet and flows through India’s Arunachal Pradesh state before merging with the Ganges and draining into the Bay of Bengal in Bangladesh. It […]
Read more »The Thirsty Dragon: Innovation In Water Rights Leads To Real Water Savings In China
August 10th, 2014
Via The World Bank, a look at an innovative water rights based system being piloted in China that may help save water: China’s most arid regions are facing an increasingly serious water crisis, and local water policies often aggravate the problem. In such climates, growth in the agricultural sector has come with high environmental costs. […]
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