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Will there be wars over the ownership of water?

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Yes
78% 602 votes Total: 770 votes
No
22% 168 votes

Water is going to become, in many dry Countries of the world, a precious resource, even more than oil or coal because life strictly depends on water and everybody have the right to get and keep a free access to it. So, it's already possible that wars can take place between two or more Countries for its exploitation, when one of them tries to put its hands on the largest part of it with the pretext that the rivers sources and part of their courses are in its territory and "within our borders, we make all we want". We can consider some examples:

1) The Tigris (1900 Km/1180 miles) and Euphrates (2800 Km/1739 miles) Rivers are the main water flows of the whole MO and have seen along their banks some of the most ancient and important human civilizations that would have never existed without their waters. Their sources are in the north-eastern Turkey (between Armenia and Kurdistan), they flow southward across the Turkish mountains and cross the territories of Syria and Iraq. Just in this last Country, they join to form the Shatt-al-Arab, not far from the Persian Gulf, like two old brothers after a long life without any contact.

Now, the Turkish government has great project on these rivers, regarding a dams system that would drain a good part of the water of these two rivers. The governments of the other two Countries are very contrary to these dams, fearing a more or less drastic reduction of these rivers flows, not very abundant and variable already today.

Given the tension that is always present in the area, it's possible that Syria, could decide, one day, to react militarily against this dams' building in Turkey (Iraq is not in condition to make a strong opposition like this, in the well known conditions it's reduced today), if the Turks don't accept compromises on this project, with a careful study of how to divide these water resources.

2) The same situation regards Egypt and Sudan about the Nile River course upstream the Assuan dam and also Ethiopia that could project to build dams on the Blue Nile or other tributaries of the main course to get hydroelectric energy and water for its agriculture. Egypt has already caused a half environmental disaster with the Assuan dam, reducing the Nile flow downward, until the Delta and drastically dropping down the fertile mud carried by the Nile, withdrawn by the dam.

Tension has already been high among Egypt and Sudan in the past years, adding to the political frictions between the two Countries, given that Egypt and its allied,


Below are the top articles rated and ranked by Helium members on:

Will there be wars over the ownership of water?

Yes
  • 1 of 50

    by C. M. Erickson

    Fresh drinking water is rapidly becoming a scarce commodity. We humans need water to live, and while we can survive for even

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  • 2 of 50

    by Joost Steffensen

    The human body is up to 75% water. After air it is the substance most vital to our existence. No major war has ever been

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No
  • 1 of 13

    by V. Kumar

    One can expect struggles for water, but most of them would get converted to war only if there are other political reasons

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  • 2 of 13

    by Joshua Jones

    Does anyone know what they call our planet in scientific circles? It is called the "blue planet". They call it this because

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