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- Rivers of conflict...but also of peace
This story is from November 18, 2006
Rivers of conflict...but also of peace
There have been more than 500 conflicts over water in the past century, but it's also an agent of cooperation.
Water has been known for centuries to be a major cause of tension and conflict within countries, as well as among nations. Yet while its propensity to strain relations frequently makes headlines, the other side of the coin water as an agent of cooperation rarely gets sufficient attention.
With more than the 260 water basins in the world transcending national borders, it is hardly surprising that the situation is widely seen as being fodder for hostility.
Nevertheless, research has shown much more historical evidence of water as a catalyst for cooperation rather than a trigger of conflict. There are more than 3,800 unilateral, bilateral or multilateral declarations or conventions on water: 286 are treaties, with 61 referring to over 200 international river basins.
There are examples of workable accords on water reached even by states that were in conflict over other matters, like India and Pakistan, Israel and Jordan. Another example is that of the Northern Aral Sea, shared by Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.
It is being successfully restored after its surface had shrunk to less than half its original size as a result of a massive diversion of water under the Soviet Union, which had drained the two rivers feeding it and devastated the surrounding environment.
With more than the 260 water basins in the world transcending national borders, it is hardly surprising that the situation is widely seen as being fodder for hostility.
Nevertheless, research has shown much more historical evidence of water as a catalyst for cooperation rather than a trigger of conflict. There are more than 3,800 unilateral, bilateral or multilateral declarations or conventions on water: 286 are treaties, with 61 referring to over 200 international river basins.
There are examples of workable accords on water reached even by states that were in conflict over other matters, like India and Pakistan, Israel and Jordan. Another example is that of the Northern Aral Sea, shared by Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.
It is being successfully restored after its surface had shrunk to less than half its original size as a result of a massive diversion of water under the Soviet Union, which had drained the two rivers feeding it and devastated the surrounding environment.
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