Sharing water is a way to peace

Peace in the pipeline: "Today, more than ever, it is time to stop propagating threats of 'water wars' and aggressively pursue a water peacemaking strategy.

Why? Well, water war warnings force the military and other security groups to take over negotiations and push out development partners, like aid agencies and international financial institutions.

Water management, on the other hand, offers an avenue for peaceful dialogue between nations, even when combatants are fighting over other issues.

Water co-operation forges people-to-people or expert-to-expert connections, as demonstrated by the trans-boundary water and sanitation projects that Friends of the Earth Middle East conducts in Israel, Jordan, and Palestine.

Water management is, by definition, conflict management."



"No nations have gone to war specifically over water resources for thousands of years; the only documented case of war with such a specific cause was between the city states of Lagash and Umma on the Tigris River 4,500 years ago."International water disputes - even among fierce enemies - are generally resolved peacefully, even as conflicts erupt over other issues.

Why? Because water is so important that nations cannot afford to fight over it.

Instead, water fuels greater interdependence.

By coming together to manage their shared water resources jointly, countries can build trust and help prevent conflict".

Great resources here, by Aaron T Wolf, Professor of Geography in the Department of Geosciences at Oregon State University, because it is positive.

Worth reading in full.