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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. […]
Read more »How The U.S. West Was Lost
August 6th, 2014
Via National Geographic, a report on the drought gripping the U.S. west: The Colorado River at it delta Just as the settling and development of the arid American West was fueled by harnessing its available fresh water, the growing lack of water availability may well be its undoing. California’s epic drought is just the latest […]
Read more »Iraq: Controlling Dams Key To Controlling The Country
July 30th, 2014
Via Future Directions International, another look at the role that dams and water are playing in the Iraqi crisis: In a recent statement, the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for Iraq, Nickolay Mladenov, warned against the use of dams as ‘an instrument of terror’ in the current conflict. As rebels from the Islamic […]
Read more »The Parched Tiger: India’s Plan To Connect Rivers With Canals Is A Geopolitical Issue
July 29th, 2014
Via The Financial Times, a look at Prime Minister Modi’s plans to connect India’s rivers with new canals: Narendra Modi is not noted for building bridges. The Indian prime minister, already viewed warily by non-Hindus, reportedly plans to speak Hindi when meeting international leaders, despite being fluent in English. He has also upset Delhi bureaucrats […]
Read more »Death On The Nile: Egypt’s Burgeoning Food And Water Security Crisis
July 29th, 2014
Via Future Directions International, commentary on near-term and medium-term threats related to Egypt’s water crisis: Key Points One in five Egyptians are currently experiencing food insecurity as a result of structural issues in the food supply system. The Nile is Egypt’s only renewable water source, but the shifting geostrategic balance between states in the […]
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