Abstract:
Land, water and air are the three basic components of the Biosphere and most environmental issues stem from the use or mis-use of these three. Water is particularly important because it is needed for life to exist. Many uses of water include agricultural, industrial, household, recreational and environmental. It is important to remember that only 2.5% of water on Earth is fresh water, and over two-thirds of this is frozen in glaciers and polar ice-caps. Water-demand already exceeds the supply in many parts of the world, and many more areas are expected to experience this imbalance in the near future. Climate-change will have significant impact on waterresources around the world, because of the close connection between climate and the hydrologic cycle. Due to the expanding human-population, competition for water is growing and many of the world’s major aquifers are becoming depleted. Demand for clean water, caused by surging population-growth, environment abuse and poor water-management is today becoming a source of friction amongst nations in many parts of the world. Add to this the changing pattern of glacier melting, due to global warming, and we have a sure recipe for disaster. More and more conflicts and rising tensions in the world over control of the existing fresh-water reserves are brewing up among nations than have been witnessed in the past. More than 50 countries in five continents might soon be caught up in serious water-disputes, unless they move quickly to establish agreements on how to share reservoirs, rivers, and underground water aquifers. The management of water-resources is therefore a strategic issue in several parts of the world, in which borders and the sharing of resources have to be dealt with together. In this article we discuss some major flash-points that have the potential of erupting into full-scale wars among nations.
Page(s):
63-70
DOI:
DOI not available
Published:
Journal: Science Vision, Volume: 15, Issue: 1, Year: 2009