Water Conflicts

Stefanie Kaiser, seecon international gmbh

Water Conflicts 1
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Water Conflicts
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Contents

1. Introduction
2. Types of Water Conflicts
3. Physical and Economic Water Scarcity
4. Water for Different Uses on Different Levels
5. Groundwater and Climate Change Pressures
6. Water Conflict or Cooperation?
7. References

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1. Introduction
Water Will Never Be Free of Politics

The importance of water

to life means that
providing for water needs
and demands will never
be free of politics. PACIFIC INSTITUTE
(2011)

Source:

Water Conflicts 4
http://www.soquelcreekwater.org/School_ED/Poster_lrg_Save-
Water-save-.jpg [Accessed: 05.02.2013]
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1. Introduction
Today’s Water Situation

• By 2025, more than half of the nations in the world will face
freshwater stress or shortages.
• Growing populations spur demand for more industries and
farmland, draining water resources more quickly than ever.
• Climate change is expected to exacerbate the problem as it
alters rainfall patterns.
WATERPOLITICS (2013)

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2. Types of Water Conflicts

What are Conflicts?

Conflict = an incompatible interaction

between two or more actors

Conflicts
can lead to:

Violence Managing differences in a

non-violent manner
(e.g. through dialogue,
institutional and legal
mechanisms)

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2. Types of Water Conflicts

Types of Conflicts (1/4)

• Water related conflicts have no single cause alone.

• Different types of water conflicts:
• Conflicts over the control of water resources as a “cause”
• Water as a military or political “tool”
• Water as a military “target”
PACIFIC INSTITUTE (2011)

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2. Types of Water Conflicts

Types of Conflicts (2/4)

• Control of Water Resources: where water supplies or access to

water is at the root of tensions. PACIFIC INSTITUTE (2011)

• Military Tool: where water resources, or water systems

themselves, are used by a nation or state as a weapon during a
military action. E.g. during the 2011 Libyan Civil War, forces
loyal to dictator Muammar Gaddafi gain control of a water
operations center and cut off water supply to the capital. PACIFIC
INSTITUTE (2011); UPI (2011)

• Political Tool: where water resources, or water systems

themselves, are used by a nation, state, or non-state actor as a
tool to reach a political goal. E.g. Serbian engineers shut down
water system in Pristina prior to occupation by NATO in 1999. PACIFIC
INSTITUTE (2011); REUTERS (1999)

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2. Types of Water Conflicts

Types of Conflicts (3/4)

• Terrorism: where water resources, or water systems, are either

targets or tools of violence or coercion by non-state actors. E.g.
in 2012 up to 150 schoolgirls in Afghanistan were reported
sickened by poison in a school water supply in an intentional
attack thought to be carried out by religious conservatives
opposed to the education of women. PACIFIC INSTITUTE (2011); HAMID (2012)

• Military Target: where water resource systems as a vulnerability

of the adversary system are targets of military actions by nations
or states. E.g. during the U.S.-led invadion of Iraq in 2003,
water systems were reported damages or destroyed by different
parties, and major dams were military objectives of the U.S.
forces. PACIFIC INSTITUTE (2011); UNICEF (2003)

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2. Types of Water Conflicts

Types of Conflicts (4/4)

• Development Disputes: where water resources or water systems

are a major source of contention and dispute in the context of
economic and social development. E.g. work on the controversial
$13 billion Belo Monte dam in Brazil is halted after protesters
burn buildings at three dam sites in 2012. PACIFIC INSTITUTE (2011); PHYS.ORG (2012)

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3. Physical and Economic Scarcity

Areas of Physical and Economic Water Scarcity
It’s useful to make a difference between physical and economic
water scarcity:

• Physical scarcity: limit of the annually renewable water for

different uses (human and ecosystem uses) has been surpassed and
backstopping options such as groundwater mining from non-
renewable resources are not available or already exhausted.

• Economic water scarcity: sufficient amounts of water are

available, but economic, human and institutional capacities for
allocating it are severely limited.

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3. Physical and Economic Scarcity

Areas of Physical and Economic Water Scarcity

Areas of physical and economic water scarcity. Source: FAO (2007)

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4. Water for Different Uses on Different Levels

Water for Different Uses

• Agriculture (approx. 70% of global withdrawal)

• Industry (20%)
• Domestic uses (approx. 10%)
MOLDEN (2007)

 Quality and quantity aspects: while the quality of water is vital

for drinking water, the quantity aspect is predominant in the
agricultural sector.

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4. Water for Different Uses on Different Levels

Water Conflicts on Different Levels

Water related conflicts can occur on different levels:

• Local
• National
• Regional
• Global

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4. Water for Different Uses on Different Levels

Local Level

• Tensions over the use of a water well

• Or between pastoralists and modern irrigated agriculture

• Where traditional conflict management systems have been

eroded and new ones not firmly established, local water related
conflicts can turn violent.

• E.g. Pastoralist conflict in

Woiyto valley in Ethiopia
ARSANO & BAECHLER (2002)

Source:
http://www.saferworld.org.uk/downloads/pubdocs/Addressing%20past
oralist%20conflict%20in%20Ethiopia.pdf [Accessed: 26.02.2013]

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4. Water for Different Uses on Different Levels

National Level

• Question of land use and water rights, as well as infrastructure

development, may lead to conflicts

• Both local and national water related conflicts are more likely in
economically water scarce countries, as it is more a challenge of
infrastructure and management, rather than about water
quantity per se.

• E.g. Darfur conflict: increasingly limited water and land

resources, possibly also due to climate change, were factors that
escalated tensions.
LUZI (2008); MASON et al. (2009)

Water Conflicts 16
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4. Water for Different Uses on Different Levels

Regional Level

• Conflicts often arise over shared river basins or trans-boundary

groundwater

• More diplomatic and economic tensions than violent

• E.g. Nile Basin, Mekong, Jordan, Euphrates-Tigris, Syr Darya and

Amu Darya

East Africa and the Nile basin. Source:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_politics_in_the_Nile_Basin [Accessed: 05.02.2013]

Water Conflicts 17
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4. Water for Different Uses on Different Levels

Global Level

Water in the form of food (“virtual water”) links the world

availability of water with the global food trade.

National virtual water trade balances over the period 1995-99. The red colours represent net import whereas green colours
show net export. Source: HOEKSTRA (2003)
Water Conflicts 18
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5. Groundwater and Climate Change Pressures

Groundwater and Climate Change - Two Special Challenges for
Peaceful Dispute Resolutions
• The largely unseen nature of groundwater often make conflicts
over access and control of these resources more diffuse as
compared to the case of surface water.

• In the case of groundwater irrigation for agriculture, the

resources provide important means to buffer against climate
variability and are thus key income-smoothing assets.

• If it is not managed adequately, this may result in social and

political unrest or even conflict.
SIEGFRIED (2004)

Water Conflicts 19
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5. Groundwater and Climate Change Pressures

E.g. Depleting River Flows in Middle East (1/2)

• All the countries in the Middle East already face serious water
shortage and additional climate-induced resource scarcity could
escalate conflicts and political turmoil.

• The river flows in Turkey, Syria, Iraq, Lebanon and Jordan have
depleted by 50 to 90% from 1960 to 2010.

• See the example of the rivers Yarmouk and Jordan on the next
slide.
SDC (2012)

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5. Groundwater and Climate Change Pressures

E.g. Depleting River Flows in Middle East (2/2)

Depleting river flows of the rivers Yarmouk and Jordan. Source: Strategic Foresight Group (2011)

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6. Water Conflict or Cooperation?

Does water stress necessarily lead to conflicts?

http://www.123rf.com/photo_10743647_world-water-health-network-of-world-
Source: http://newmanagersonline.net/images/conflict.jpg cooperation-represented-by-a-blue-drop-of-h2o-and-human-characte.html
[Accessed: 26.02.2013] [Accessed: 26.02.2013]

Yes! No!
Water war hypothesis Water cooperation is common

Water Conflicts 22
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6. Water Conflict or Cooperation?

Water War Hypothesis

• “I believe water will be the defining crisis of our century, the

main vehicle through which climate change will be felt—from
droughts, storms, and floods to degrading water quality. We’ll
see major conflicts over water; water refugees.” - Alexandra
Cousteau, Social Environmental Advocate WATERPOLITICS (2013)
• It seems intuitive: ‘the less water there is, the more likely it is
that people will fight over it’.
But is this true?
Well, actually, no…

Water Conflicts 23
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6. Water Conflict or Cooperation?

Water Cooperation

• Researchers have found that arid climates are no more conflict-

prone than humid ones.
• It also transpires that conflicts over water erupt in equal
measure in rich and poor countries, democracies and
autocracies.
UNESCO (2013)

Water Conflicts 24
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6. Water Conflict or Cooperation?

Water Cooperation
• At the international level water appears to provide reasons for
trans-boundary cooperation rather than war.
• While there has been conflict related to water in a handful of
international basins...
• ... in the rest of the world’s approximately 300 shared basins
the record has been largely positive.
• Places that generally cooperated with each other, usually also
cooperated over water.
• In places where there were conflicts, such as the Middle East,
there were often other causes for disagreement. In other words,
the water situation didn't’t help but it was not the main cause of
war.
IWMI (2006)

Water Conflicts 25
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6. Water Conflict or Cooperation?

Water Cooperation
• This is perhaps exemplified by the hundreds of treaties in place
guiding equitable water use between nations sharing water
resources.
• The institutions created by these agreements can, in fact, be one
of the most important factors in ensuring cooperation rather than
conflict.
IWMI (2006)

Water more often unites than divides people and societies. UN (2013)

Water Conflicts 26
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References

ARSANO, Y. & BAECHLER, G. (2002):The Transformation of Resource Conflicts: Mechanisms and the Case of the Woiyto
River Valley in Southern Ethiopia. In: BAECHLER, G. (Editor); WENGER, A. (Editor) (2002): Conflict and Cooperation – The
Individual Between Ideal and Reality. Festschrift in honour of Kurt R. Spillmann. Zurich.

FAO (2007): Comprehensive Assessment of Water Management in Agriculture. Rome: Food and Agriculture Organization of
the United Nations. URL: http://www.fao.org/nr/water/art/2007/maps_waterscarcity.gif [Accessed: 26.02.2013]

HAMID, M. (2012): Afghan schoolgirls poisoned in anti-education attack. Reuters. 17 April 17 2012. URL:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/04/17/us-afghanistan-women-idUSBRE83G0PZ20120417 [Accessed: 11.03.2013]

HOEKSTRA, A.Y. (2003): Virtual Water Trade. Delft: UNESCO-IHE, Institute for Water Education. URL:
http://www.waterfootprint.org/Reports/Report12.pdf [Accessed: 26.02.2013]

IWMI (2006): Promoting cooperation through management of transboundary water resources. Colombo, Sri Lanka:
International Water Management Institute. URL:
http://www.iwmi.cgiar.org/Publications/Success_Stories/PDF/2010/Issue%208%20-
%20Promoting_cooperation_through_effective_management_of_shared_water_resources.pdf [Accessed: 26.02.2013]

Strategic Foresight Group (2011). The Blue Peace. Rethinking Middle East Water. Mumbai: Strategic Foresight Group. URL:
http://www.strategicforesight.com/Highlights%20The%20Blue%20Peace.pdf [Accessed: 26.02.2013]

LUZI, S. (2008): Double-Edged Hydropolitics on the Nile. Linkages between Domestic Water Policy Making and
Transboundary Conflict and Cooperation. Zurich: CSS/ETH Zurich. URL:
http://kms1.isn.ethz.ch/serviceengine/Files/ISN/116785/ipublicationdocument_singledocument/b8cfcd04-7d48-4b1f-
bcc9-d794c51d5c7e/en/DoubleEdgedHydropoliticsontheNile_SamuelLuzi.pdf [Accessed: 26.02.2013]

Water Conflicts 27
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References

MASON, S.A.; HAGMANN, T.; BICHSEL, C.; LUDI, E.; ARSANO, Y. (2009): Linkages Between Sub-national and International
Water Conflicts: the Eastern Nile Basin. In: BRAUCH, H. et al. (Editors) (2009): Facing Global Environmental Change:
Environmental, Human, Energy, Food, Health and Water Security Concepts. Volume 4: Hexagon Series on Human and
Environmental Security and Peace. Berlin.

MOLDEN, D. (2007): Water for Food, Water for Life. A Comprehensive Assessment of Water Management in Agriculture.
London: Earthscan, Colombo: International Water Management Institute. URL:
http://www.fao.org/nr/water/docs/Summary_SynthesisBook.pdf [Accessed: 26.02.2013]

PACIFIC INSTITUTE (2011): Water Conflict Chronology. Oakland, CA: Pacific Institute. URL:
http://worldwater.org/conflict/index.html [Accessed: 26.02.2013]

PHYS.ORG (2012): Trouble at Brazil mega-dam stops construction for now. Douglas, UK: Phys.Org. URL:
http://phys.org/news/2012-11-brazil-mega-dam.html [Accessed: 13.03.2013]

REUTERS (1999): NATO keeps up strikes but Belgrade quiet. Reuters, 5 June 5 1999. URL: http://dailynews.
yahoo.com/headlines/wl/story.html?s=v/nm/19990605/wl/yugoslavia_strikes_129.html [Accessed in June 1999].

SDC (2012): The Blue Peace in the Middle East. Bern: Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation SDC. URL:
http://www.deza.admin.ch/en/Home/Projects/Selected_projects/Water_management_and_peace_promotion_in_the_Mi
ddle_East [Accessed: 26.02.2013]

SIEGFRIED, T.U. (2004): Optimal utilization of a non-renewable transboundary groundwater resource. Methodology, case
study and policy implications. Dissertation. Zurich: ETH. URL: http://e-collection.library.ethz.ch/view/eth:27559
[Accessed: 26.02.2013]

UN (2013): Water cooperation. New York: United Nations. URL:

http://www.un.org/waterforlifedecade/water_cooperation.shtml [Accessed: 26.02.2013]

Water Conflicts 28
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References

UNESCO (2013): The year of water politics. Paris: United Nations Organization for Education, Science and Culture. URL:
http://www.unesco.org/new/en/natural-sciences/resources/periodical/a-world-of-science/vol-11-n-1/in-focus-water-
cooperation [Accessed: 26.02.2013]

UNICEF (2003): Iraq: Cleaning up neglected, damaged water system, clearing away garbage. News Note Press Release,
May 27, 2003. URL: http://www.unicef.org/media/media_6998.html [Accessed: 11.03.2013]

UPI (2011): Gadhafi turns water project into a weapon. United Press International, 2 September 2 2011. URL:
http://www.upi.com/Business_News/Energy-Resources/2011/09/02/Gadhafi-turns-water-project-into-a-weapon/UPI-
66451314984213 [Accessed: 11.03.2013]

WATERPOLITICS (2013): Introduction. Las Vegas, NV: Water Politics Limited. URL: http://www.waterpolitics.com
[Accessed: 26.02.2013]

Water Conflicts 29
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