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The Drying of the American West – A Wellspring of Future Water Wars
January 22nd, 2008
As we have discussed previously, the U.S. West is facing a myriad of water resource issues. In an excellent article, National Geographic recently analyzed the “drying of the American West”, focusing particularly on the decreasing flow of the Colorado River and the fact that the 20th century — the century when Americans built an incredible […]
Read more »The Thirsty Dragon and An Iron Dust Bowl: The Politics of Water & Sand in Northern China
January 22nd, 2008
Northern China is drying out, and there is little to suggest that the situation will change for the better. As a China Environmental Forum document noted in 2006, water scarcity — a problem throughout China — is most acute in the north where per capita resources are only 750 cubic meters per year (1,700 cubic […]
Read more »Global Water Geopolitics: Potential Water Woes (and Wars) in Central Asia
January 21st, 2008
As freshwater resources become ever more scarce or polluted, a global crisis in access to clean water is emerging. While this will be most acutely felt in Africa and West Asia, a lack of freshwater is already an economic constraint in major growth markets like China, India, and Indonesia, as well as commercial centers in […]
Read more »Water & Politics in Bangladesh’s “Waterworld”
January 21st, 2008
An excellent article by Robert Kaplan in the January/February ’08 edition of The Atlantic Monthly, examining the catastrophic threats that global warming & climate change hold for Bangladesh, a nation already with too little land for its 150 million people. While the majority of the report focuses on the massive impacts that rising sea levels […]
Read more »More Water Politics in California
January 21st, 2008
As recently reported in The Los Angeles Times, cities and water agencies across California are scrambling to assess the ramifications of a first-ever shortage allocation plan that would govern water deliveries to communities stretching from the Santa Monica Mountains to the Inland Empire and south to the Mexican border. As with most water-related issues, deep […]
Read more »Poised For A Future Diplomatic Meltdown? Indo-Chinese Tensions over Use of Tibet’s Water
January 20th, 2008
Lost in the generally enthusiastic media coverage of the recent Indo-Chinese bilateral meetings is the long-standing issue of water resource management between the two emerging giants. Given its presence in Tibet, China controls India’s river water and flooding. Even without any fully completed projects in place to tap into this source, many Indians feel this […]
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