What Water Wars? 'Think Water Cooperation', Expert Says

May 8, 2014 | Anastasia Moloney
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Back in 1995, Ismail Serageldin, then World Bank vice president, warned that: "Many of the wars this century were about oil but those of the next century will be over water." It's been a common refrain ever since with experts predicting that rapid urbanisation and population growth coupled with the impact of climate change would increase demand for water and the likelihood of countries fighting over the precious commodity. But which nations have gone to war over water in the nearly 20 years since the World Bank raised the alarm, or indeed, the past century?