What is the conflict over shared water resources?
Alexie Orn
2025-06-29 16:08:48
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The most precious of those – water – could be the focus of more frequent conflicts as global warming raises temperatures and dries out landscapes. Over 3 billion people depend on water that crosses national borders, but only 24 countries have transboundary water basin agreements, according to the UN. Conflicts about water have been quite common in the past, being recorded several thousand years back. In the more recent past, such conflicts have typically concerned countries that share rivers and thus water basins. Being able to anticipate and respond to water quality shocks, for example extreme events such as unprecedented harmful algal blooms in lakes and along coasts, will help to manage impacts in effective and equitable ways. Trade could alleviate some water conflicts and impacts of climate change – but trade and globalization also open the door to trading more water-intensive goods, such as cash crops or hydrogen. That will lead to a greater value for water and increased potential for conflict. Some of our research shows that it is often not climate change alone that impacts water, but rather adaptation to climate change in other sectors. In the Mekong, there is increasing awareness and tension around how Chinese dams and reservoirs impact downstream communities, as well as water security and climate resilience.
Maye Simonis
2025-06-17 16:26:20
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Countries that share rivers have a higher risk of military disputes, even when controlling for a range of standard variables from studies of interstate conflict. A weakness of earlier work is that the existing shared rivers data do not distinguish properly between dyads where the rivers run mainly across the boundary and dyads where the shared river runs along the boundary. Dyads with rivers running across the boundary would be expected to give rise to resource scarcity-related conflict, while in dyads where the river forms the boundary conflict may arise because river boundaries are fluid and fuzzy. Shared basins do predict an increased propensity for conflict in a multivariate analysis. The size of the basin, however, is significantly associated with conflict. Dry countries have more conflict, but less so when the basin is large. The importance of basin size suggests a possible 'resource curse' effect for water resources.
Caroline Kihn
2025-06-09 00:42:43
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The conflict over shared water resources is connected to economic growth, as water supply in Singapore is crucial for its domestic and economic needs. Singapore's physical geography limits its ability to provide sufficient water for its domestic and economic needs. Water is supplied from Malaysia to Singapore, with treatment taking place in Singapore, and there are benefits to both countries. A water agreement is important to both Singapore and Malaysia, with agreements signed and financial arrangements in place, but there has been disagreement and conflict between the two governments. The Singaporean and Malaysian Governments, Singaporean water authorities, and Singaporean people and industry will play a role in finding a solution to the conflict. The role of different stakeholders, including these groups, is crucial in attempting to find a resolution to the conflict over shared water resources. Economic growth, population density, population growth, and climate change are likely to be connected to water conflicts, as seen in the case of the River Johor, which is shared by Malaysia and Singapore.
Kallie Brakus
2025-06-09 00:08:23
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The potential for conflicts to occur between users within a country, and internationally over local and trans-boundary water sources. When the demand for water overtakes the available supply and there are key stakeholders desperate for that water, there is potential for conflict, or what has been called 'water wars'. Within countries, conflicts can arise between the competing demands of irrigation, energy, industry, domestic use and recreation. But it is when countries 'share' the same river or drainage basin, as is the case with trans-boundary water sources, the 'normal' competition for water can be raised to a different level, namely one of international tensions and even open conflict. Conflicts ranging from minor disputes to wars can occur at any scale from local to international. Potential flash points have been dams and barrages built in Sudan and Ethiopia that deprive downstream Egypt of its fair share of Nile water. Other shared rivers that could become battefields of water wars are the Jordan and the Tigris-Euphrates
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