BLOG
The Ring Tide of Mideast Water Tension: Neo-Ottomanism & Turkey As A Hydrological Superpower
January 9th, 2010
Courtesy of NPR, an interesting look at the acute water shortage in the Middle East, and downstream resentment from Arabs, Iraqis and the Syrians that Turkey is growing into a hydrological superpower. As the article notes: The massive Ataturk Dam (shown here in 1992), in southeast Turkey, harnesses water for one of the biggest irrigation […]
Read more »The Great Himalayan Watershed: Water Shortages, Mega-Projects and Water Politics in China, India, and Southeast Asia
January 7th, 2010
Courtesy of Japan Focus, a detailed look at Himalayan water shortages and politics among China, India, and Southeast Asia. As the article notes: “…Since we tend to take water for granted, it is almost a bad sign when it is in the news; and lately there have been plenty of water-related stories from South, East, […]
Read more »Pakistan & India: Increased Water Tension
January 2nd, 2010
Via Socyberty, a report on the water resource challenges facing Pakistan, and the increasing pressure these constraints are placing on the India-Pakistani relationship & the long-established Indus Water Treaty. As the article notes: “…Pakistan water resources are distinctive and limited. During the last few years due to scanty rains in Balochistan, lower Punjab and Sindh […]
Read more »The Transformation Of The Mekong River
December 18th, 2009
Courtesy of The New York Times, a report on the Mekong River which flows through six countries, all of which have various needs and uses for its waters. As the article notes: “…The Mekong has long held a mystique for outsiders, whether they be American G.I.’s in the Delta during the Vietnam War or ill-starred […]
Read more »Groundwater, Geopolitics, and the Guaranà Aquifer
December 8th, 2009
Via Water Wired, a note that the current issue of Stygoscape focuses on the Guaranà aquifer – one of the largest reservoirs of groundwater in the world which is shared by Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay. Current water storage is estimated to range between 37,000 to 55,000 km3 by various workers, a natural recharge of […]
Read more »Melting Ice On The Roof Of The World
December 8th, 2009
Via AFP, continued bad news from the roof of the world, namely the glaciers in the Himalayas that sweep through Pakistan, India, China, Nepal and Bhutan, and which provide headwaters for Asia’s nine largest rivers, lifelines for the 1.3 billion people who live downstream. As the article notes: “…Scientists predict that most glaciers will be […]
Read more »