Peace in the pipeline

Article from BBC VIEWPOINT by Aaron Wolf, Annika Kramer, Alexander Carius and Geoffrey Dabelko

The following excerpt is from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7886646.stm

It seems obvious; rivalries over water have been the source of disputes since humans settled down to cultivate food.

Even our language reflects these ancient roots: "rivalry" comes from the Latin rivalis, or "one using the same river as another".

As the number of international river basins and impact of water scarcity has grown, so do the warnings that countries will take up arms to ensure access to water.

In 1995, for example, World Bank Vice President Ismail Serageldin famously claimed that "the wars of the next century will be about water," a sentiment echoed regularly ever since.

These apocalyptic warnings fly in the face of history.

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Related content: UNEP/GEF South China Sea Project and the GEF Small Grants Programme Partnership; Web-based interactive and animated statistics; The Transboundary Freshwater Dispute Database from Oregon State University; PCCP Short Course on “Negotiation and Mediation for Water Conflict Management II”; Water map shows billions at risk of ‘water insecurity’; Small-scale fisheries are too big to ignore; Small-scale fisheries are too big to ignore

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Peace in the pipeline

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