Water conflicts

An essay question and answer

[Here in the UK the exam season is upon us. The ‘physical’ exams have taken place, so here is an example of a ‘human’ topic - conflicts over the use of water. A reminder… I give myself a limit of 600 words to answer such questions. It is also an example of where I think breadth is as good as depth. And, I try to make use of topical examples.]

Assess the relative importance of physical and human factors in creating water conflicts at different scales.

Water conflicts can occur at a variety of scales. Some are trans-boundary where water sources are shared across a political boundary. This includes river drainage basins, underground aquifers, and lakes. Many trans-boundary water sources straddle an international boundary such as the river Nile; they also include rivers such as the Colorado in the USA that crosses the political boundaries of US states. Conflicts can also be more local, within the same country. A range of physical and human factors underpin these conflicts.

Long-standing conflict exists between India and Bangladesh over the River Ganges. Low river flows in downstream Bangladesh are blamed on deforestation, a human activity, in the Indian Himalayas. The construction of the Farakka Barrage in 1972 enabled India to divert 10% of the Ganges’ flow towards Calcutta, causing reduced water availability in Bangladesh. Broader political relations between Hindu India and Muslim Bangladesh have never been good, so conflict over the Ganges must be seen in this context. This is another human factor.

In Egypt and Sudan, water is a precious resource. Cairo (Egypt) receives only 25 mm of rainfall per year and the country depends almost entirely on the river Nile for its water supply, both physical factors. Historic agreements from the colonial era gave Egypt and Sudan rights to all the Nile’s waters. Today, these do not reflect the reality of population or development in upstream countries such as Ethiopia and Uganda. Increased water usage upstream, and new HEP dams such as the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) in Ethiopia, risk reducing Nile river flows reaching Egypt and Sudan. This is increasingly a source of tension and, long term, could lead to open conflict, especially if Egypt feels its only water supply is threatened. Here, physical and human factors interact.

Trans-boundary water supplies have contributed to armed conflict in one area of the world – on the borders of Israel. The main factor here is human - political disagreement - though the argument is over a scarce physical resource. In the 1960s there was a series of military clashes between Israel and its Arab neighbours (Syria, Palestine) over control of the river Jordan. This conflict has now had some resolution and Israel and Jordan signed a water-sharing agreement in 1994.

Nearby in Gaza, extensive amounts of the water infrastructure have been damaged or destroyed by various Israeli military actions in the 21^st century, particularly in recent months. Prior to the current conflict, up to 12 deep wells had been rendered inoperable and more than 6,000 roof storage tanks damaged. The number now is in excess of these. Essential materials can no longer be accessed – Gaza is essentially cut off from the world as Israel controls its borders.

Conflicts can also occur within a country, for example over the building of a dam and water reservoir, as in Kielder, Northumberland, where there was concern over the flooding of a farming valley and villages. Some reservoirs, such as badly needed reservoirs for south-east England, are so long disputed that they have not been built because of nimbyism. The arguments over the dumping of sewage in UK rivers is a form of conflict – a purely human decision but exacerbated by high rainfall levels, a physical event.

In conclusion, it is not the case that disputes over water supplies always lead to conflict. There are more examples of water-sharing agreements than conflicts and recognised international frameworks for resolving disputes. However, where conflict does exist, it usually exists as part of wider political disputes over a rare physical resource, which becomes the focus of human disagreement. (593)