Water Wars The Next War?

Water, water, every where, And all the boards did shrink;
Water, water, every where, Nor any drop to drink. These lines
taken from Samuel Taylor Coleridges The Rime of the Ancient
Mariner, although used in a very different context, perfectly
describe the steadily worsening plight of water scarcity, in
many regions across the globe. Today clean drinking water has
become a luxury and not a necessity. And we have only
ourselves to blame for this condition.
The common misconception is that water is everywhere, and
that it not going to run out any time soon. Currently, 97.5
percent of the Earths water is marine or salt water with only
2.5 percent left as fresh water, 70 percent of which is frozen in
glaciers and polar ice caps. The remaining unfrozen freshwater
is found mainly as groundwater, with only a small fraction
present above ground. And unfortunately, these meager
resources are unevenly distributed throughout the globe. With
hard hitting issues like population growth, rapid urbanization,
climate changes and pollution of resources, the amount of
available clean fresh water is under stress. With the United
Nations estimating the global population to go up from 6 billion
in 2010 to around 8.9 billion by 2050, it is only a matter of time
before large countries start fighting over control of water
resources in an area.
Over the past 25 years, politicians, academics and journalists
have frequently predicted that disputes over water would be a
source of future wars. The United Nations has launched the UN
International Hydrological Program to help improve
understanding of water resources and foster effective water
management. But so far such programs are inefficient as
powerful countries have an edge over smaller ones, which lead
to major international disputes.
One example of a major water conflict is the one in the Middle
East and North Africa. This conflict primarily deals with three
major river basins: the Jordan River Basin, the Tigris-Euphrates
River Basin, and the Nile River Basin. The fight over these
resources has resulted in disastrous wars like the civil war in
Sudan. Countries like Egypt enjoy a vast majority of water

resources and other countries like Syria and Kenya are deprived
of it. This often results in tensions, due to the anomaly in the
distribution of water resources. Treaties are also failed to be
generated because the countries dont agree on a fair way to
distribute the water resources.
If such a situation exists in the Middle East and Africa in todays
scenario, it is not hard to imagine what will happen if the bigger
and more powerful players like the United States and China
lock horns, over the control of a water resource.
The only solution to avoid regional conflicts over water and
possibly a next World War is for the formation of Water
Authorities. Through the formation of Water Authorities,
peaceful resolutions to the water conflicts of many water-scarce
nations may be effectively achieved. The intentions of countries
to seize power can be considerably condensed, permitting the
states to direct their attentions to technological advances in
efficient water usage. Currently, 10 percent of the worlds water
withdrawal is allotted for domestic use, 20 percent for industrial
use, and 70 percent for irrigated agricultural use. Irrigation
persists as the single most wasteful method of water delivery
90 percent of the irretrievable use of water is due to irrigation.
Thus, experiments in drip irrigation, cropping patterns,
recycling waste water, efficient household appliances,
desalination, and other water-saving measures can enable
many countries to further stave off conflict over water.
Water is a very precious resource which must be protected and
conserved. As individuals, we can safeguard our country from
such calamities by applying conservation practices like rain
water harvesting, improved irrigation technologies like
pressurized systems, canals systems and sprinklers, and
installing dual flush toilets. We never know the worth of water
till the well is dry. Let us try to save water before this can
happen.

-Mohammed Kamal
12BEC0497