The Atlas of Water. Maggie Black

      Competition and Conflict

      Nile Basin

      As populations grow and more water is extracted, competition over the exploitation of rivers, lakes and aquifers increases. Where major water sources cross national boundaries, this can lead to political tension. Many countries share rivers, and some depend heavily on water flowing in from elsewhere. When rivers are dammed or flows diverted in such a way as to benefit one population and deprive another, the potential for conflict increases sharply. The discharge of pollutants can also pit downstream against upstream inhabitants. These pressures have led to talk of “water wars”. So far, no war has been explicitly fought between nations over water, although occasional military, terrorist or activist strikes have been undertaken to destroy dams, cut off supplies or capture sites as part of a populist or other type of campaign. Sabre-rattling over some upstream hydraulic projects has also become increasingly noisy. Water supplies feature strongly in some major political disputes, including that between Israel–Palestine. In Central Asia, confrontation has developed between six republics over what used to be a centralized dam and irrigation network in the days of the Soviet Union. In India, a dry year can lead to inter-state violence over ungenerous water releases by upstream states. Competition between user groups with conflicting interests is not uncommon. Industrial users and farmers may dispute use of scarce resources, or companies with a commercial interest in water supplies may find themselves at loggerheads with local people who rely on the same supply for cultivating their basic crop. Water disputes need to be solved at the basin-wide level, whether this is within one country but between states (as in India); or international, as in the case of the Nile and Indus. An increasing number of tribunals and river basin organizations have come into existence for this purpose.

      The Nile is shared by Burundi, DR Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda. Because it receives no run-off for 40% of its length, its flow is relatively small. Under a colonial-era agreement, downstream and dependent Egypt and Sudan were entitled to command of the Nile, causing upstream resentment. A Nile Basin Initiative is now trying to integrate the needs of all basin countries.

      Bolivia–Chile

      The waters of the Silala spring, Bolivia, flow through a canal westwards into Chile, where they are vital to the processing of copper in the Atacama desert. A disagreement over the natural course of this water prior to the construction of the canal in 1908 is part of a long-running territorial dispute. Bolivia claims that the water in the Silala Aquifer is its national property, the artificial canal is not governed by international water law, and Chile should pay Bolivia around $15,000 a day for the water. A draft bilateral agreement was rejected by Bolivia in 2010.

      Q 4 Rising Demand; 5 Dwindling Supply

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      ISIL in Iraq

      ISIL recognizes the importance of controlling vital infrastructure in the battle to establish territorial control. In 2014 it temporarily closed the gates of the Fallujah Dam on the Euphrates, flooding farmland in an attempt to create a protective barrier for its forces, and also reducing the water supply to downstream, mainly Shiite, cities. It adopted a similar tactic in June 2015 in Ramadi. The brief control by ISIL of the huge Mosul Dam on the Tigris in August 2014 was a grave cause for concern. But although capturing dams gives ISIL a degree of power, in reality managing vast volumes of continually renewing water in a way that does not adversely impact on ISIL-controlled territory is a challenge.

      Kaveri River, India

      Karnataka and Tamil Nadu States are obliged to share the waters of the Kaveri River. After a 50-year agreement ended in 1974, upstream Karnataka ceased its unwilling co-operation. Tamil Nadu’s agricultural production depends on large-volume releases, but in a drought year, farmers in Karnataka become desperate and resolutely oppose the loss of “their” water. The government of India has stepped in on many occasions, setting up a dispute tribunal. But its “final” awards – most recently in 2013 – are invariably rejected by one state or both. Tensions can lead to disruptive violence.

      Central Asia

      The fertile areas of Central Asia are deserts made arable by an integrated system of dams and canals in the Syr Darya and Amu Darya basins, built in the Soviet era. Since then, management of the whole system has fractured – as have inter-state relations. The upstream states, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, enjoy a water surplus, while Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan suffer, as the near-empty Aral Sea at the end of the rivers stands eloquent testimony. Infrastructure is dilapidated, and wasteful. Two new upstream dams proposed in 2012 ratcheted tensions further. Agreements are ignored and state leaders have so far proved immune to compromise.

      Copyright © Myriad Editions

      33 Treaties and Obligations; 34 Striving for Co-operation R

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