What are the major causes of conflict over water?
Jacey Hintz
2025-06-23 17:54:47
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: 14
Conflicts over water can arise when: There are too many users for available supplies. There is an unequal allocation of what is available. Water is diverted upstream by a neighbouring country. Water is contaminated by upstream users. The rate of abstraction for large-scale commercial agricultural purposes is exceeding domestic and industrial use. Many local people are suffering a lack of accessible water, with commercial farmers diverting aquifer flow to their farms. Demand for water in California exceeds natural supplies. Increased demand for water due to population growth and climate change, has intensified the competition for water. 80% of water in the region is used as irrigation for agriculture. These conflicts can occur at a variety of scales. Conflicts often stem from historical injustices. The loss of ancestral lands and water resources due to colonisation. The construction of dams and reservoirs.
Jordy Hamill
2025-06-23 14:11:43
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: 6
Limited water supply can lead to the conflict of water users and players. The River Nile and the River Mekong flow through multiple countries and so conflicts arise internationally. Egypt has even threatened any country upstream of them that tries to dam the Nile River with War. Chinese dams at the headwaters threaten the water availability to nations that are further downstream. Limited water supply can lead to the conflict of water users and players. Tribal conflict is a concern because of the minimal water supplies. The Dam’s potential impact on Lake Turkana did lead to UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee calling for the construction to be halted in 2011. Lake Turkana's water levels could drop 10 metres, increasing the salinity of the water and threatening 300,000 people and local wildlife.
Tiffany Gerhold
2025-06-23 13:25:25
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: 8
Trigger: Water as a trigger or root cause of conflict, or underlying cause of ongoing tension that is contributing to conflict, where there is a dispute over the control of water or water systems or where economic or physical access to water, or scarcity of water, triggers violence.
Items are included when there is violence or threats of violence.
We do not include instances of unintentional or incidental adverse impacts on populations or communities that occur associated with water management decisions, such as populations displaced by dam construction or impacts of extreme events such as flooding or droughts.
Events are categorized based on the use, impact, or effect that water had within the conflict.
Basis for Including an Event Items are included when there is violence or threats of violence.
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