Water and war

By Morgan Shimabuku | July 15, 2024

Records of water-related conflicts go back thousands of years, as this screenshot of a map from the Pacific Institute shows. Known as the “Water Conflict Chronology,” it has listed 1,634 conflicts (shown as red dots) that involve water—so far. Image courtesy of Pacific Institute. Link to their interactive map is at https://www.worldwater.org/conflict/map/

Water and war

By Morgan Shimabuku | July 15, 2024

Loading...
References

AWWA. n.d. “Cybersecurity & Guideance: AWWA’s Utility Risk & Resilience eLearning Certificate Program.” American Water Works Association (blog). Accessed May 27, 2024. https://www.awwa.org/Resources-Tools/Resource-Topics/Risk-Resilience/Cybersecurity-Guidance#12690717-education–events

Chambers, D. 2018. “Fight in Water Queue Forces Cape Town to Crack Down.” TimesLIVE, January 31. https://www.timeslive.co.za/news/south-africa/2018-01-31-fight-in-water-queue-forces-cape-town-to-crack-down/

Dighade, R. R., Kadu, M.S. and Pande, A.M. 2014. “Challenges in Water Loss Management of Water Distribution Systems in Developing Countries.” International Journal of Innovative Research in Science, Engineering and Technology3 (6). https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/document?repid=rep1&type=pdf&doi=4d6bb62084a66c6fd76cda9d75c33d3398f39712

Espinola, A. 2017. “DPR Project in Africa ‘Cradle of Water Reclamation.’ ” American Water Works Association (blog). December 7. https://www.awwa.org/AWWA-Articles/dpr-project-in-africa-cradle-of-water-reclamation

Gambrell, J. 2023. “Iran, Taliban Exchange Heavy Gunfire in Conflict over Water Rights on Afghan Border.” PBS NewsHour May 27. World. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/iran-taliban-exchange-heavy-gunfire-in-conflict-over-water-rights-on-afghan-border

Gleick, P. H, and Shimabuku, M. 2023. “Water-Related Conflicts: Definitions, Data, and Trends from the Water Conflict Chronology.” Environmental Research Letters 18 (3): 034022.

Gleick, P, Iceland, C., and Trivedi, A. 2020. “Ending Conflicts Over Water.” https://doi.org/10.46830/wrirpt.19.00081. https://www.wri.org/research/ending-conflicts-over-water

Gleick, P., Vyshnevskyi, V. and Shevchuk, S. 2023. “Rivers and Water Systems as Weapons and Casualties of the Russia-Ukraine War.” Earth’s Future 11 (10): e2023EF003910. https://doi.org/10.1029/2023EF003910

Kullab, S., and I. Novikov. 2023. “Russia Covered up and Undercounted True Human Cost of Floodings after Dam Explosion, AP Investigation Finds.” AP News, December 28. https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-war-dam-collapse-kakhovka-kherson-daacdc431f42912dfb91548794f03a3c

Lakhani, N. 2020. “Who Killed Berta Cáceres? Behind the Brutal Murder of an Environment Crusader.” The Guardian, June 2. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jun/02/who-killed-berta-caceres-behind-the-brutal-of-an-environment-crusader

Lyngaas, S. 2024. “Cyberattacks Are Hitting Water Systems throughout US, Biden Officials Warn Governors.” CNN (blog). March 19. https://www.cnn.com/2024/03/19/politics/cyberattacks-water-systems-us/index.html

Mabena, S. 2017. “Man Killed as Protest Spirals.” TimesLIVE, January 31. https://www.timeslive.co.za/news/south-africa/2017-01-31-man-killed-as-protest-spirals/.

Mirovalev, F, and Mirovalev, M. 2023. “Fears of Environmental Disaster Mount after Ukraine Dam Break.” Al Jazeera, June 16. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/6/16/fears-of-environmental-disaster-mount-after-ukraine-dam-blast

Pacific Institute. 2024. “Water Conflict Chronology.” The World’s Water: Water Conflict Chronology. https://www.worldwater.org/water-conflict/

UN Water. 2024. “Water for Peace.” United Nattions | World Water Day. March 22. https://www.un.org/en/observances/water-day

UNICEF. 2018. “EU and UNICEF Lay First Stone of €10 Million Seawater Desalination Plant in Gaza.” Unicef State of Palestine, August 6. Press release edition. https://www.unicef.org/sop/press-releases/eu-and-unicef-lay-first-stone-10-million-seawater-desalination-plant-gaza

UN-OCHA. 2023. “Hostilities in the Gaza Strip and Israel | Flash Update #9.” United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. October 15. http://www.ochaopt.org/content/hostilities-gaza-strip-and-israel-flash-update-9

USAID. 2022. “Water and Conflict: A Toolkit for Programming.” https://www.globalwaters.org/resources/assets/water-and-conflict-toolkit-programming-0

Vyshnevskyi, V., Shevchuk, S., Komorin, V., Oleynik, Y., and Gleick, P. 2023. “The Destruction of the Kakhovka Dam and Its Consequences.” Water International 48 (5): 631–47. https://doi.org/10.1080/02508060.2023.2247679

Wolski, P. 2018. “What Cape Town Learned from Its Drought.” Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, April 16. https://thebulletin.org/2018/04/what-cape-town-learned-from-its-drought/

Together, we make the world safer.

The Bulletin elevates expert voices above the noise. But as an independent nonprofit organization, our operations depend on the support of readers like you. Help us continue to deliver quality journalism that holds leaders accountable. Your support of our work at any level is important. In return, we promise our coverage will be understandable, influential, vigilant, solution-oriented, and fair-minded. Together we can make a difference.


Get alerts about this thread
Notify of
guest

0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments