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Water politics, sometimes called hydropolitics, is politics affected by the availability of water and water resources, a necessity for all life forms and human development.
Arun P. Elhance's definition of hydropolitics is "the systematic study of conflict and cooperation between states over water resources that transcend international borders". Mollinga, P. P. classifies water politics into four categories, "the everyday politics of water resources management", "the politics of water policy in the context of sovereign states", "inter-state hydropolitics" and "the global politics of water".Mollinga, P. P., 2008. " Water, politics and development: Framing a political sociology of water resources management." Water alternatives, 1(1), 7., 12 The availability of drinking water per capita is inadequate and shrinking worldwide. The causes, related to both quantity and quality, are many and varied; they include local scarcity, limited availability and population pressures, but also human activities of mass consumption, misuse, environmental degradation and water pollution, as well as climate change.
Water is a strategic natural resource, and scarcity of potable water is a frequent contributor to political conflicts throughout the world. With decreasing availability and increasing demand for water, some have predicted that clean water will become the "next oil"; making countries like Canada, Chile, Norway, Colombia and Peru, with this resource in abundance, the water-rich countries in the world. Peter Lawrence et al. "The Water Poverty Index : an International Comparison", Keele Economics Research Papers, 2002 A Chronology of Water-Related Conflicts The UN World Water Development Report (WWDR, 2003) from the World Water Assessment Program indicates that, in the next 20 years, the quantity of water available to everyone is predicted to decrease by 30%. Currently, 40% of the world's inhabitants have insufficient fresh water for minimal hygiene. More than 2.2 million people died in 2000 from related to the consumption of contaminated water or drought. In 2004, the UK charity WaterAid reported that a child dies every 15 seconds from easily preventable water-related diseases; often this means lack of sewage disposal; see toilet. The United Nations Development Program sums up world water distribution in the 2006 development report: "One part of the world, sustains a designer bottled water market that generates no tangible health benefits, another part suffers acute public health risks because people have to drink water from drains or from lakes and rivers." UNDP Human Development Report 2006 United Nations Development Programme, 2006. Fresh water—now more precious than ever in our history for its extensive use in agriculture, high-tech manufacturing, and energy production—is increasingly receiving attention as a resource requiring better management and sustainable use.
Riparian water rights have become issues of international diplomacy, in addition to domestic and regional water rights and politics.Rahaman, M. M. (Ed.) (2012) Special Issue: Water Wars in 21st Century along International Rivers Basins: Speculation or Reality?, International Journal of Sustainable Society, Vol. 4, Nos. 1/2, 193 pages. World Bank Vice President Ismail Serageldin predicted, "Many of the wars of the 20th century were about oil, but wars of the 21st century will be over water unless we change the way we manage water."Serageldin, I. (2009) ' Water: conflicts set to arise within as well as between states', Nature, Vol. 459, p.163. Where Oil and Water Do Mix: Environmental Scarcity and Future Conflict in the Middle East and North Africa This is debated by some, however, who argue that disputes over water usually are resolved by diplomacy and do not turn into wars.Barnaby, W., 2009. "Do nations go to war over water?" Nature, Vol. 458, 282–283 Another new school of thought argues that "perceived fears of losing control over shared water might contribute towards a constant preparedness to go to war among riparian nations, just in case there is one".Rahaman, M.M. (2012) Water Wars in 21st Century: Speculation or Reality?, International Journal of Sustainable Society, Vol. 4, Nos. 1/2, pp. 3–10. DOI:10.1504/IJSSOC.2012.044658
Hydro-hegemony refers to "hegemony at the river basin level, achieved through water resource control strategies such as resource capture, integration and containment. The strategies are executed through an array of tactics (e.g. coercion-pressure, treaties, knowledge construction, etc.) that are enabled by the exploitation of existing power asymmetries within a weak international institutional context." The two pillars of hydro-hegemony are riparian position and exploitation potential. Although exceptions are possible, as a rule of thumb "upstreamers use water to get more power, downstreamers use power to get more water." The actor who wins control over the resource is determined through the form of hydro-hegemony that is established, in favor of the most powerful actor ('first among equals').
In 2010, Mark Zeitoun and Ana Elisa Cascão modified the framework to constitute of four overarching pillars of power— geographical power, material power, bargaining power and ideational power.Cascão, A. E. and Zeitoun, M. 2010. Power, hegemony and critical hydropolitics. In A. Earle, A. Jägerskog, & J. Ojendal (Eds.), Transboundary water management: Principles and practice. London: Earthscan, 27–42. As such, hydro-hegemony can be understood as hegemony at the river basin level that occurs where control over transboundary flows is consolidated by the most powerful actor.
Although Zeitoun and Warner argue that hydro-hegemony is generally a source of stability, in some instances weaker states might engage in counter-hydro-hegemony. In this instance, it is attempted to renegotiate and eventually also shift the distribution of power. Strategies that might be applied in this are attempts to shift the discourse to the favour of the non-hegemon.
According to the WHO, each human being requires a bare minimum of 20 of fresh water per day for basic hygiene; Water: A Human Right this equals 7.3 cubic metres (about 255 ft3) per person, per year. Based on the availability, access and development of water supplies, the specific usage figures vary widely from country to country, with developed nations having existing systems to Water treatment water for human consumption, and deliver it to every home. At the same time however, some nations across Latin America, parts of Asia, South East Asia, Africa and the Middle East either do not have sufficient water resources or have not developed these or the infrastructure to the levels required. This occurs for many varied reasons. It has resulted in conflict and often results in a reduced level or quantity of fresh water per capita consumption; this situation leads toward disease, and at times, to starvation and death.
The source of virtually all freshwater is precipitation from the atmosphere, in the form of mist, rain and snow, as part of the water cycle over Aeon, millennia and in the present day. Freshwater constitutes only 3 percent of all water on Earth, and of that, slightly over two thirds is stored frozen in and Polar climate . The remaining unfrozen freshwater is mainly found as groundwater, with only a small fraction present in the air, or on the ground surface. Surface water is stored in or or flows in a stream or river, and is the most commonly utilized resource for water. In places, surface water can be stored in a reservoir behind a dam, and then used for municipal and industrial water supply, for irrigation and to generate power in the form of hydroelectricity. Sub-surface groundwater, although stored in the porosity space of soil and rock; it is utilized most as water flowing within below the water table. Groundwater can exist both as a renewable water system closely associated with surface water and as a separate, deep sub-surface water system in an aquifer. This latter case is sometimes called "fossil water", and is realistically non-renewable. Normally, groundwater is utilized where surface sources are unavailable or when surface supply distribution is limited.
Rivers sometimes flow through several countries and often serve as the boundary or demarcation between them. With these rivers, water supply, allocation, control, and use are of great consequence to survival, quality of life, and economic success. The control of a nation's water resources is considered vital to the survival of a state.Daclon Corrado Maria, Geopolitics of Environment, A Wider Approach to the Global Challenges, Comunità Internazionale, Italy, 2007 Similar cross-border groundwater flow also occurs. Competition for these resources, particularly where limited, have caused or been additive to conflicts in the past.
The highlands of Ethiopia may be considered a water tower region in East Africa. Sovereign control of upland water supply is likely to govern downstream politics for many years.
Mexico relies on groundwater for their water supply which has led to significant exploitation of aquifers and therefore increased costs in accessing water. Mexico City is the largest city and urban center with a very high demand for drinking water. The water supply provided by the "Sistema de Aguas de la Ciudad de Mexico" (SCAMEX) is only 98 effective and has therefore left about 48,000 households in the city alone without water. However, even those with access to the water provided by the city remain unsatisfied. Even those already connected to SCAMEX experience issues due to water loss and poor water quality. In Mexico City, an estimated 40% of the city's water is lost through leaky pipes built at the turn of the 20th century. According to the results of a 2011 survey, up to 87% of the households in Mexico City would prefer to access water used for cooking and drinking through sources other than the tap. Alternative ways to access water include: purchasing bottled water or filtration devices, or boiling water before drinking. The issue is that these alternative measures are typically significantly more expensive than using the water provided.
In the context of the Middle East, with a diverse landscape of national, subnational, ideological, ethnic, religious and Pan-nationalism identities, water politics has played an important role in conflicts between Iraq, Syria, and Turkey; Egypt and other Nile riparian states; as well as Israel and Palestine. In the MENA, all major rivers cross at least one Border, such as the Tigris and Euphrates crossing three major Middle Eastern nations. The Nile even crosses eleven countries. This means that downstream riparian states are hugely affected by the actions and decisions of upstream riparian states, an actor they have little practical control over. In particular this is evident with the possibility of cutting or reducing water supply from one nation to the next. Besides rivers, other waters in the Middle East that are important for the region and international trade are the Suez Canal, the Bab-el-Mandeb, the Strait of Hormuz, and the Persian Gulf.
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| Water scarcity is an increasing problem in Algeria, which is reinforced by climate change and periods of drought. In 2024, protests against the water politics of the government occurred in the city of Tiaret. To secure the supply of drinking water and water for the agricultural and industrial sectors, as well as to mitigate the risk of increasing water scarcity as a consequence of climate change, Algeria provided a budget of USD 5.4 billion to enhance the desalination technology in the country. By 2030, the country aims to generate nearly two thirds of its water through desalination. | |
| Water politics form an important aspect for Bahrain, being an archipelago. Similar to other countries in the region, conventional water resources in Bahrain are scarce. To meet its water demands, the country therefore uses techniques such as desalination, as well as greywater filtering for irrigation. These techniques allowed Bahrain to reduce the depletion of unsustainable water resources by 20% between 2000 and 2021. These goals towards a more efficient and sustainable use of water are enshrined in the Bahrain Vision 2030 and the progress made leads to country to claim a "pioneering" role in this realm. Already in the 1980s different laws were implemented to manage water resources in the kingdom more efficient and sustainable, which is implemented and monitored by a variety of state institutions. | |
| Egypt's water politics are heavily affected by the Nile treaties that were signed in 1902, 1929, and 1959. In these treaties, Egypt's self-proclaimed dominance over the Nile is confirmed, and Egypt is granted access to the majority of the Nile waters, as well as the right to block construction projects affecting the Nile in upstream countries. Despite other states seeing these agreements as Postcolonialism, Egypt perceives them as legally binding.
In the course of the intensified nationalism and the Pharaonism of modern Egyptians from Ancient Egypt, the Nile has become part of Egypt's national identity. This is also reflected in the securitisation of the Nile, where the river is commonly linked to the nation's existence. An important step for modern Egypt, in maximising the use of the Nile across several domains, was the construction of the Aswan Dam under Gamal Abdel Nasser in 1970. Besides the Aswan High Dam, Toshka was an important water policy project in Egypt. Toshka was an ambitious plan to create a new city in the southern Egyptian desert, using water from Lake Nasser to gain new land for agriculture and reduce pressure from issues such as overpopulation and food scarcity. However, the project was never finished. Since Ethiopia announcement of the construction of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam in 2011, Egypt's water politics have been dominated by the dispute over the construction and later filling and operation of the dam. Egypt has opposed the dam, fearing that it will reduce the amount of water it receives from the Nile. According to Egypt, the dam is in conflict with the Nile agreements and International Water Law, and threatens the water security of Egypt and Sudan. Egypt fears that the Renaissance Dam will lead to less downstream flowing water in the Nile, which would affect Egypt's water security, as the country is heavily dependent on the Nile. Additionally, this might also have negative effects on hydropower production from the Aswan High Dam. In rejecting the Renaissance Dam, Egypt forms an alliance with Sudan. So far, all negotiations have failed and the dispute between Egypt and Ethiopia over the Renaissance Dam has become a national preoccupation in both countries. | |
| In Iran from the 1980s onward, there was a water policy that now appears to have been not very future-oriented. Especially in the 1990s the construction of water infrastructure, such as dams, as well as wells to pump groundwater, increased, and today, while the population is rapidly growing, the water resources and the condition of the water infrastructure are deteriorating rapidly. In political decision-making processes, warnings from experts were—and still are—often neglected, leading some to speak of a "water mafia." According to a study by Allan Hassaniyan, water politics in Iran is heavily influenced by corruption, nepotism, and what is called "environmental racism," as political decision makers often exploit nature and the state treasury to allocate more water to their local districts. Due to further mismanagement and the regime's goal for food sovereignty, affected by sanctions on Iran, the agricultural sector both requires and illegally uses the vast majority of the available water. These developments are intertwined with other broader issues that reduce the availability of water, such as climate change and Soil salinity and lead to water scarcity. | |
| Following the 1991 uprising in Iraq, Saddam Hussein drained the Iraqi marshes in an act of revenge against the Marsh Arabs living in the area. The destruction of the marshes, and connected to that, the habitat of the Marsh Arabs is an instance where water was weaponised in a counterinsurgency strategy. It is considered both a genocide and an ecocide. Besides counterinsurgency, scholars also argue that sectarianism played a role in the destruction of the marshes, as the majority of the population in this area was Shia Islam. While the Iraqi regime accused Turkey of reducing the water flow of the Euphrates to Iraq in the process of the construction of the Atatürk Dam, thereby allegedly draining the marshes, scholars have argued that nearly all damage was done by Iraq. To drain the marshes, water from the Euphrates and Tigris was redirected into the so-called "Glory River," a project by the regime that aimed to increase fertile land in Iraq. After the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, there were attempts by Iraqi officials, the U.S. military, and NGOs to restore the marshes.
Currently, Iraq's water policies include the aim to improve engagement and cooperation with neighbouring countries to mitigate issues surrounding unequal access to water, also involving international actors such as the Netherlands. In early 2025, Iraq and the United Kingdom agreed on a GBP 5.3 billion project to improve the water supply of southwestern regions of the country. | |
| Although not a country, ISIS was an important actor in regional water politics during the caliphate. The areas ISIS controlled in the Middle East contained water infrastructure crucial for the populations of Syria and Iraq. Constructions such as dams or storages were important strategic goals for ISIS, from 2014 onward leading to heavy battles at the end of which ISIS controlled most of the water infrastructure along the Euphrates and Tigris in Syria and Iraq. Subsequently, water became used as a weapon through causing water shortages, inducing overflows, and intoxicating water. These strategies were used for military warfare but also to attack civilians. The control over a crucial resource such as water gave ISIS power, not only as a weapon but also in a symbolic way, underlining the group's ambition to replace the existing states. Furthermore, water and the electricity generated from hydropower were used by ISIS for its followers, its territories, and the oil production. Blowing up dams was also considered to be a realistic option in a possible strategy of ISIS in case it loses all territories and is on the brink of defeat. In 2014, especially the scenario of ISIS destroying the Mosul Dam would have had serious consequences, destroying both Mosul and Baghdad. | |
| During the Zionist settlement of Palestine before the establishment of Israel in 1948, control over water was a tool to increase power in the region. Starting in the 1930s, water was declared to be an abundant resource in Palestine by zionist scholars and water companies. This argument was used to enable and increase settlement in Palestine.
Israel is highly active in improving its water infrastructure and methods to enhance water availably in the country. This includes desalination, new irrigation techniques, Reuse water, and dams to keep up with rapid population and economic growth. However, differences in access to water can be observed as Negev Bedouin and inhabitants of occupied areas have severely less access to water. Water is an important issue in the Arab–Israeli conflict and according to former Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon was one of the causes of the Six-Day War. Article 40 of the appendix B of the September 28, 1995 Oslo accords stated that "Israel recognises Palestinians' rights on water in the West Bank".See Christian Chesnot in – French original version freely available here. Nevertheless, in the ongoing Gaza war, Israel is criticised by various scholars, activists, and politicians for the weaponisation of water. The water supply to Gaza Strip is blocked and water infrastructure for fresh and waste water was targeted. Yoav Gallant, the former Israeli minister of defence, stated: “We are imposing a complete siege on Gaza. There will be no electricity, no food, no water, no fuel, everything will be closed.” This weaponisation of water and its consequences on civilians in Gaza are considered to be War crime. | |
| Due to its downstream position on the Jordan River and Yarmouk River, Jordan's water supply is dependant on other countries and under pressure. Therefore, together with International Organisations, Jordan is preparing new techniques to use non-conventional water resources, such as second-hand use of irrigation water and desalinisation techniques. Another important project was the Disi Water Conveyance Project, transporting groundwater from the Disi aquifer in the south of Jordan to Amman.
After the failure of the negotiations surrounding the Jordan Valley Unified Water Plan in 1955, unlike other regional states, Jordan signed a peace treaty with Israel in 1994, ending the decades of Unilateralism water politics. Jordans riparian position did not allow a complete withdrawal from negotiations but made cooperation necessary. Although there are still tensions between the countries, the treaty proved to be important as several shared projects enhancing water cooperation and water supply were realised since 1994. There even were plans for a "peace canal" which both countries wanted to construct together, however this project was never realised. To increase its access to the Yarmouk River, Jordan signed several treaties with Syria, dating back to 1953, however the riparians power imbalance founded in geographical position along the course of the Yarmouk River can also be seen in the treaties. In treaties the countries agreed upon certain amounts of water that Syria must release to Jordan, as well as the number of dams that Syria is allowed to construct, however Syria neglected these agreements multiple times. Therefore, Jordan is considered one of the most water scarce countries in the world. | |
| The most visible part of Kuwait's water politics are probably the Kuwait Water Towers. The towers, with their characteristic architecture, serve as water reservoirs to provide Kuwait City with desalinated water. Today, the Kuwait Water Towers consist of 31 mushroom-shaped water towers and the Kuwait Towers, and they were an important step for Kuwait towards water security and water sovereignty. With increasing demand for water, Kuwait expanded its water reservoir system, which today consists of over 80 above-ground and more than 100 underground reservoirs. | |
| In Lebanon water shortage is a problem affecting over two thirds of the country's population and this is likely to increase in the future due to climate change if there are no countermeasures. To reduce stress on the water supply, scholars identified potential in the agricultural sector which consumes slightly more than half of the country's water. The reuse of greywater for irrigation could increase the share of water available for human consumption. Furthermore, decades of crisis and conflict in Lebanon have negatively affected the water infrastructure, which is struggling to meet Beirut water demands. Therefore, inhabitants are required to use improvised water acquisition measures, the selection of which is highly affected by their financial possibilities. | |
| An important water policy project in Libya was the Great Man-Made River Project started under Muammar Gaddafi. The goal was to supply the densely populated northern region of Libya with water from Aquifer discovered in the south. However, the project was never finalised after the fall of Gaddafi in 2011.
Libya faces severe water insecurity and is heavily dependent on non-renewable groundwater resources to a large extent. The conflicts in Libya led to water infrastructure being destroyed, further decreasing water security in the country. During the civil wars, water infrastructure was deliberately targeted, leading to serious pressure on food and water security, which are intertwined and mutually reinforcing factors along with other issues such as displacement, migration, and the environmental consequences of war. In September 2023, two dams collapsed in Libya following Storm Daniel. Scholars and experts have linked the collapse of the dams to the devastating effects of the civil wars on infrastructure in the country, with the storm serving as the final trigger. | |
| Water politics in Morocco are shaped by the governments goal to make the water use more sustainable and efficient, as well as to increase the water supply. However, a central obstacle to this is the widespread corruption. Furthermore, in some regions the distribution of water is especially unequal, as more water goes to the farming of Cash crop than to the population. In the town of Zagora, this led to protests called a "thirst revolution" in 2017. In this, a gendered dimension can be observed. Especially women and children are affected by water scarcity in these regions, as men often moved to bigger cities to work there. | |
| The Sultanate of Oman has a very diverse climate, with the southern parts of the country being affected by the seasonal monsoon. Especially, the city of Salalah is popular for its many Wadi and rivers. In the Hajar Mountains, the traditional Aflaj Irrigation System is still in place and is part of the UNESCO World Heritage list. However, nowadays, Oman relies heavily on desalination for its water, which makes up more than 85 percent of the drinking water. | |
| Already during the Mandate era, access to water was politicised in Palestine. Where local farmers developed practices to negotiate the relative water scarcity, British government officials perceived these practices as outdated and "backward." The inherently racist strategy of the colonial leadership was to cooperate with the first Zionist settlers in Palestine, as Jews were seen as superior to Arabs and therefore able to use the land and resources more efficiently. Under the official aim to increase agricultural output and reduce diseases, Palestinian farmers saw their access to water diminish, as it was reformed by an alliance of convenience of Zionism and the Mandate leadership. Part of the restructuring of water management in Mandate Palestine was the draining of areas such as Hula Valley resulting in the resettlement of Palestinians, making it an important element in the settler colonisation of Palestine.
After the occupation of the West Bank in 1967, Israel limited the access of Palestinians to water, while in the illegal settlements there are no restrictions on water use. Today, most water sources in Palestine are controlled by Israel, leading to a dependence of Palestinians on Mekorot and concessions by Israeli lawmakers. The Oslo Accords enshrined the unequal access to water in legal codes, as they allocate the majority of shared watercourses to Israel. This imbalance in access to water also affects the per day consumption of water per person which is around 3-4 times higher in Israel than in the occupied Palestinian territories. In Gaza, according to Amnesty International, around 90-95% of the water is unusable for the population. Already before the Gaza war a weaponisation of water could be observed, as the access to water and the use of water management facilities in Gaza is heavily restricted by Israel. According to Human Rights Watch, the population in Gaza has less than a tenth of the minimum amount of water humans need per day according to the World Health Organization. | |
| Despite being one of the most water scarce countries when it comes to conventional water resources, Qatar has a very high consumption of water for different purposes ranging from private use, over public parks, to the construction sector. This water is mainly won through desalination and Qatari citizens receive it for free from the government. To fulfil the water demands Qatar is continuously expanding its water infrastructure. Furthermore the country aims to reduce the use of water and make it more efficient and sustainable in line with SDG 6 of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. | |
| In the formation of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, water was an important means of power, as access to water enabled the Al Saud family to assert their dominance and use it to generate stability. Before the discovery and boom of oil, large parts of the Saudi Arabian population were peasants. Therefore, control over access to water could be used to distribute it and, through this, exercise power and create stability.
As groundwater resources are shrinking, Saudi Arabia's dependence on desalination for water has been increasing since 1950. Currently, just under two-thirds of the water demand in the KSA is met by desalinated water. In 1980, the East-West-Pipeline transporting desalinated water from the city of Jubail to Riyadh was constructed. Groundwater is often used for irrigation purposes in more rural agricultural areas of the kingdom. Water also plays an important role in Saudi Arabia's ambitious Neom project. To meet the city's water demands, it will entirely depend on desalination. Therefore, to meet the goal of the city being entirely CO2 neutral, new solutions to the energy-intensive desalination process are required. Furthermore, the city plans to recycle all of its wastewater. | |
| Water politics in Sudan are historically connected to those in Egypt. Under colonial rule, Sudan was a party to the Nile agreements of 1902 and 1929, where access to water and power in the Nile region was mainly distributed between Egypt and, to a lesser extent, Sudan. After the country became independent in 1956, tensions arose as the new Sudanese government did not recognise the earlier Nile agreements and opposed the Aswan High Dam. After the Sudanese military coup in 1958, Sudan and Egypt made mutual concessions to build dams on the Nile, resulting in another agreement signed in 1959, which reinforced the key contents of the 1929 agreement. The allocation of Nile waters, as formulated in the Nile agreements, is still seen as legally binding by Sudan today, despite criticism from other states regarding the colonial influence in the agreements. In 2015, Sudan, Egypt, and Ethiopia signed a Declaration of Principles expressing the goal of increasing cooperation and, ultimately, enhancing regional prosperity.
After Ethiopia announced its plans to construct the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, Sudan initially welcomed the project. However, after another military coup in 2019, there was a rapprochement between Sudan and Egypt, with both countries expressing shared rejection of the Renaissance Dam. In 2020 and 2021, Sudan and Egypt conducted the military exercises "Guardians of the Nile" and "Nile Eagles" together. Sudan participates in the ongoing negotiations on the filling and operation of the Renaissance Dam. | |
| Syria is facing severe water shortages and water insecurity. The decline of water in the Euphrates River leads to several intertwined issues in Syria. As an important source for irrigation, reduced Euphrates waters lead to increased rural flight as farming is becoming very hard. However, this rural flight to urban centres leads to a rapid and somewhat uncontrolled population growth in cities and puts severe tension on the (water) infrastructure of these cities. Furthermore, the lack of water in the Euphrates leads to energy shortages as less turbines in Syrian dams can be used. However, it is often argued that these issues could have been partially prevented by better water management in the past decades. With the Civil War starting in 2011, water had the potential to increase conflict but also for limited rapprochement, as state engineers carried out maintenance work on dams in areas controlled by ISIS or Kurdish militias. Currently, however, the water mismanagement continues as reforms are not consequently implemented and the depletion of groundwater resources remains high. Together with the lack of cooperation between Syria and Turkey, this is most likely to increase water scarcity in the future. Turkish dams on the Euphrates have significantly reduced the availability of water, partially as Turkey weaponises the dams in an attempt to weaken the Kurdish YPG. Given Turkeys ties with the HTS militia that took power in Syria in late 2024, it will be interesting to see how the tensions between the countries around water evolve in the future. | |
| Although the access to clean water was added to the Constitution in 2022, water scarcity remains a problem in Tunisia for humans, animals, agriculture, and the economy. Therefore, the Tunisian Ministry of Agriculture has published plans to enhance the availability of water sources, the access to them, and the efficient use of water in different steps until 2050. In Tunisisia water scarcity acts intertwined with climate change and leads to phenomenons such as desertification and rural flight. Especially the agricultural sector, which for long has focused on water intensive export Crop, is affected by increasing water scarcity. The World Bank is engaging in projects aiming to improve water security in Tunisia. | |
| The plans for the Southeastern Anatolia Project (GAP), published in 2007, included the construction of the IIısu Dam, which is part of a broader network of Turkish dams on the Euphrates and Tigris, close to the borders with Iraq and Syria. These dams face criticism from Iraq and Syria, as they significantly reduce the amount of water flowing downstream in the two rivers, which are crucial for Syria's and Iraq's water supply. Similar to the dispute over GERD between Egypt and Ethiopia, it can be observed in the case of Turkey and Iraq/Syria that negotiations are difficult, as the parties have opposing interests. Furthermore, the Ilısu Dam is argued to be targeting Kurds, as it destroys some of their lands and the city of Hasankeyf. There are even accusations against Turkey of using dams to deprive Syrian Kurds of water, which would constitute a weaponisation of water. | |
| Water politics are an important field in the UAE and there even is a policy paper dedicated to it called "Water Security Strategy 2036." In this, the UAE states its aim to increase the sustainability of desalination and to improve the efficient use of water in the country. Furthermore, the policy paper states a belief in and commitment to international solutions for water scarcity. | |
| Before 2014, the vast majority of water in Yemen was used by the agricultural sector. Especially in the last third of the 20th century a shift towards the cultivation of cash-crops for export took place. These crops such as Banana, citrus, and khat were often poorly aligned to the climate and availability of water in Yemen.
The ongoing Yemeni Civil War has increased the already existing water scarcity in Yemen. Currently, it is estimated that more than 50% of the population do not have access to clean water. During the war, water infrastructure was destroyed or is no longer functional due to a lack of maintenance and spare parts. The Houthis, as well as the government troops and their allies, have weaponised water, therefore committing war crimes. Different international actors, such as United Nations Development Programme, the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization are active in Yemen and aim to increase water cooperation and increase water supply. In response to the Gaza War, the Houthis started to attack ships in the Red Sea along the coast of Yemen. This Red Sea Crisis is ongoing and has led to intensified Airstrike on Yemen, as well as delays and rising prices in international trade, as one of the most important Sea lane between Europe, the MENA, and Asia has become increasingly dangerous to pass. |
Another key player arguing to defend access to clean water in the Standing Rock protests is the Standing Rock Sioux Tribal Chairman, Dave Archambault II, who has spoken to the Human Rights Council at the U.N. in Geneva on behalf of his tribe. In a separate statement, Archambault thanked those who fought the pipeline "in the name of protecting our water."
The Water Justice movement has also moved globally, encompassing a wide array of diverse groups such as the Global Water Justice Movement, Friends of the Right to Water, the Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions, Food and Water Watch, and the Heinrich Böll Foundation. Groups such as these believe that water is part of the global commons, and thus argue against the privatization of water resources and give the state the responsibility of ensuring the right to water.
The water crisis in Flint, Michigan has also led activists to focus on getting clean water to the people. After the 2014 decision to make the Flint River the primary water source of the town, residents quickly noticed the quality of their water declining. The American Civil Liberties Union filed multiple lawsuits against the administration in Flint, saying that the levels of lead in the water is absurd, and demanded the pipes be replaced. This has yet to happen, and the people of Flint continue to struggle for clean water.
Categories of water justice organizations and programs include:
There have been many agreements set in place to try to avoid inequality and conflict with the use of water. Still, international leaders are struggling with incorporating bilateral and multilateral agreements to ensure efficient and fair water allocation. For instance, there are approximately 275 river basins and 270 ground water aquifers with policies that manage the sharing of the resource by two or more nations. Despite the use of policies in the shared management of water, there have been multiple conflicts between nations because of poor water allocation. Likewise, there has been over 300 water treaties signed internationally in dealing with water sharing yet the management and allocation of water is still unresolved. Currently, policies and agreements intended to address water politics and allocation between nation states are insufficient. The United Nations has not presented an initiative to create a strategic framework to penalize nations, which have water conflicts. Without enforcement of such policies and frameworks nations feel minimal pressure in complying with policies, resulting in continued inefficient practice of water politics. There has been a demand from countries and interest groups for the United Nations to set out a policy with rules and boundaries on water sharing and allocation. This policy must include clear-cut penalties for countries that go against the policies.
As the availability of water decreases daily, the demand for policies and agreements to address water allocation and sharing increases. Bilateral and multilateral agreements are most important for third world countries since water is a scarce resource, and they will be the first to face water shortages. The purpose of agreements is to ensure that all individuals have access to water as part of their fundamental basic human rights. Developed countries can offer resources to trade for water but third world countries are not as well off as developed countries and will lag behind. If agreements are not set in place many third world countries will have no choice but to turn to warfare in order to secure water. Water wars can arise over the necessity of water for survival; a lack of water can result in economic consequences, biodiversity consequences, environmental consequences, illness and even death. The United Nations emphasizes and prioritizes water as a human right. However, the United Nations fails to create a policy that appropriately creates balance in terms of water-sharing and allocation.
There has been a proposition in a more balanced approach for water-sharing and allocation through a combination of large scale politics on the international level and smaller scale politics (hydropsychology) rather than focusing strictly one a singular approach. This balanced approach would include policies created at community levels and national levels in order to address the issue of water-sharing and allocation. Currently, hydropolitics only studies water at the international level and hydropsychology studies water at local level. The failure of hydropolitics on its own is demonstrated through the conflicts that have occurred in the past and present between nations that share and manage water together. Thus the combination of hydropolitics and hydropsychology would assist international leaders with addressing water-sharing. Both hydropolitics and hydropsychology have different approaches on dealing with the matter and the different ideas can merge to create a more complete solution. The combination of hydropsychology and hydropolitics will also assist in dealing with matters such as virtual water water trading, river linking scheme, large dams, and climate change. The advantage is based on the premise that the use of water starts at the individual level, which eventually impacts the actions of governments and major institutions. The international level pays minimal attention to local affairs but has extensive knowledge on international policies. Subsequently, the local level pays minimal attention to international affairs but has major knowledge on local water use. Thus, the combination of the two make up for the lack of attention each level gives to the other. It is also important to note that the individual level has an impact on the governmental level, which affects the abundance of water, and international agreements that will be created. The reconciliation of hydropolitics and hydropsychology must be considered in dealing with water-sharing. The importance of hydropsychology was neglected in the past but its importance is extremely evident for the present and future.
South Africa also made moves to privatize water, provoking an outbreak of cholera that killed 200.
In 1997, World Bank consultants assisted the Philippine government in the privatization of the city of Manila's Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage Systems (MWSS). By 2003, water price increases registered at 81% in the east zone of the Philippines and 36% in the west region. As services became more expensive and inefficient under privatization, there was reduced access to water for poor households. In October 2003, the Freedom from Debt Coalition reported that the diminished access to clean water resulted in an outbreak of cholera and other gastrointestinal diseases.
Water privatization is a strategy utilized to deliver a secure and sustainable supply of water from private organizations rather than having the public sector provide this service. Privatization of water politics entails a reorganization of water allocation from the public sector to the private sector through privatization and commercialization of water. The government forfeits the management of water politics to a private organization. Private organizations allocate water based on capitalism mechanisms. The commercialization of water politics in the private sector distributes water based on rationales that concern economic profitability.
Historically, water privatization has resulted in civil disputes, protests and wars. The United Nations classifies access to clean drinking water as a universal human right.
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