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Iran’s Water Crisis
February 27th, 2014
Courtesy of Future Directions, a close look at Iran’s water crisis: Key Points Iran is facing a serious and protracted water crisis. Due to long-term government mismanagement and lack of planning, achieving water security in Iran will require significant policy reform and strong governance. Unmetered access and widespread dam development have altered Iran’s natural water […]
Read more »Israeli Water, Mideast Peace?
February 26th, 2014
Courtesy of The New York Times, some commentary on the impact that water woes may have upon Middle East politics: Nuclear proliferation, religious militancy and income inequality are all major threats to Middle East stability. Sadly, a new one is brewing: water scarcity. The human causes are clear: rapid population growth, antiquated infrastructure, the over-pumping […]
Read more »The Thirsty Dragon: South-North Water Transfer ‘Not Sustainable’
February 26th, 2014
Via ChinaFile, an update on China’s South-North Water Transfer project which, one official said, would be rendered irrelevant if one-third of buildings in Beijing could collect more rainwater and recycle more wastewater: The bank of the Yangtze River in southwest China’s Chongqing municipality, dried up in a drought that in 2011 forced authorities to halt […]
Read more »Canadian Ambassador: Water Wars With U.S. Will Become Bigger Issue Than Pipelines
February 25th, 2014
Via the Vancouver Sun, an article reporting that some senior Canadian diplomats think that water wars with the U.S. will soon become more important than current cross-border deliberations over potential petroleum pipelines: Canada must prepare for diplomatic water wars with the U.S., as demand on both sides of the border grows for this vital but […]
Read more »The Drying Of The American West
February 23rd, 2014
Courtesy of The Economist, a sobering report on the drought conditions in the American west: THE first rule for staying alive in a desert is not to pour the contents of your water flask into the sand. Yet that, bizarrely, is what the government has encouraged farmers to do in the drought-afflicted south-west. Agriculture accounts […]
Read more »The Thirsty Dragon: China’s Transboundary & Third Pole ‘Obstacles’
February 10th, 2014
Courtesy of China Water Risk, a list of China’s top five environmental trends includes the following on water: As long as China does not sign comprehensive water sharing agreements regarding water ulitisation of transboundary rivers with neighbouring countries, transboundary water management will continue to fuel geopolitical fears in the region. Given China’s search for clean […]
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