Water shortages are becoming increasingly important as there is no
alternative for our survival, and the locations of the remaining
sources have caused many conflicts, making the problem worse. For
example, the Tigris and Euphrates river basin in the Middle East has
caused disputes over the ownership of their water supply. Iraq have
accused Turkey and Syria of holding back water supply through the
construction of dams in the upper course of both rivers, which
escalated hostilities particularly in the 1970s, but has also been
related to the threat of the countries' national security today.
When a river basin crosses the border between two different
governing states, the question arises has to who has the right to
that water supply. In a perfect world it would be shared equally, but
of course this is not the case as countries have found it difficult
to make agreements over abstraction and the quality of the water that
is put back into the system. An example of this is on the Colorado
river, which crosses the USA-Mexico border, where the US have placed
13 dams (including the Hoover Dam) on its upper course, greatly
reducing the flow left for Mexicans on the lower course of the river.
In order to conserve water for the future, sustainable management
between countries is key to prevent more conflicts arising.
Sorry for the absent post a fortnight ago, I was a bit busy! Back to normal now though :)
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