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Water: A Wellspring Of Conflict?
March 23rd, 2016
Via Strife, commentary exploring the role of water in human conflict and politics: Water wars; they seem inevitable in an age of non-traditional security threats and problems such as climate change requiring collective action. But water is rarely a single cause of conflict. Certainly, water can be a stress multiplier in a conflict, but violent […]
Read more »Why Managing The Politics Of Water Matters
March 22nd, 2016
Via the Japan Times, commentary on managing the politics of water: This year’s World Water Day, on March 22, provides an opportunity to highlight what in many countries has become a grim reality: The availability of fresh water is increasingly a defining strategic factor in regional and global affairs. Unless water resources are managed with […]
Read more »Southern Africa: Water Options Drying Up
March 8th, 2016
Courtesy of STRATFOR (subscription required), analysis of southern Africa’s water challenges: Extreme drought and low commodity prices are crippling economies across southern Africa. For much of the past decade, China’s rapid growth led to a massive demand for raw materials, the export of which African governments rely on for revenue. But as China’s economy has […]
Read more »Tasmania: Betting On Water To Revive Its Fortunes
February 29th, 2016
Courtesy of The Economist, a look at Tasmania’s new course around turning water into wealth: FOR 27 years Yvonne and Noel Gerke ran a transport business, hauling logs from Tasmania’s forests to mills grinding woodchips for customers in Japan and elsewhere in Asia. Then came the global financial downturn as well as campaigns to protect […]
Read more »Somalia’s Drought Disaster: Losing 80% of Animals And Buying a Little Water For $120
February 21st, 2016
Via the Mail & Guardian, a sobering report on the impact of drought in Somalia: Two consecutive seasons of drought across northern Somalia are driving tens of thousands of pastoralists into hunger and debt. Abdilahi Mohamed had 20 cattle in August. Only five now survive. He herded his animals 250 kilometres – from his home […]
Read more »Worldwide Water Shortages: Worse Than Thought?
February 12th, 2016
Via Mother Jones, an article on a new study that suggests world water shortages may be worse than currently thought: The world’s water crisis might be much worse than we thought. Four billion people, or two-thirds of the global population, face severe water shortages for at least one month out the year, according to a study […]
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