Water Wars: How Scarcity Exacerbates Conflict

Jun 15, 2019 | Oliver Lees
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Around the world, water scarcity is increasingly changing the face of conflict. Beyond its being essential to human survival – one can only live a few days without consumption – water is also required for basic hygiene and agricultural production. In 2013, the Global Water Institute found that 43 countries and over 700 million people were affected by water scarcity around the globe, with the ever-unpredictable effects of climate change likely to make matters worse. In places as varied as Sudan, Peru, Nigeria, Yemen and India, poor or inhibited access to water has contributed significantly to interstate and intrastate feuds.