Water Conflicts: From Ancient to Modern Times and in the Future

Since prehistoric times, water conflicts have occurred as a result of a wide range of tensions and/or violence, which have rarely taken the form of traditional warfare waged over water resources alone. Instead, water has historically been a (re)source of tension and a factor in conflicts that start...

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Published inSustainability Vol. 13; no. 8; p. 4237
Main Authors Angelakis, Andreas N., Valipour, Mohammad, Ahmed, Abdelkader T., Tzanakakis, Vasileios, Paranychianakis, Nikolaos V., Krasilnikoff, Jens, Drusiani, Renato, Mays, Larry, El Gohary, Fatma, Koutsoyiannis, Demetris, Khan, Saifullah, Giacco, Luigi Joseph Del
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Basel MDPI AG 11.04.2021
Subjects
Aggression
Aquifers
Casualties
Cities
Deprivation
Groundwater
Hammurabi (1792?-1750 BC)
History
Irrigation
Lakes
Medieval period
Natural disasters
Rivers
Sustainability
Warfare
Water governance
Water policy
Water resources
Water supply
Waterlogging
Assyria
Anatolia
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Summary:Since prehistoric times, water conflicts have occurred as a result of a wide range of tensions and/or violence, which have rarely taken the form of traditional warfare waged over water resources alone. Instead, water has historically been a (re)source of tension and a factor in conflicts that start for other reasons. In some cases, water was used directly as a weapon through its ability to cause damage through deprivation or erosion or water resources of enemy populations and their armies. However, water conflicts, both past and present, arise for several reasons; including territorial disputes, fight for resources, and strategic advantage. The main reasons of water conflicts are usually delimitation of boundaries, waterlogging (e.g., dams and lakes), diversion of rivers flow, running water, food, and political distresses. In recent decades, the number of human casualties caused by water conflicts is more than that of natural disasters, indicating the importance of emerging trends on water wars in the world. This paper presents arguments, fights, discourses, and conflicts around water from ancient times to the present. This diachronic survey attempts to provide water governance alternatives for the current and future.
ISSN:2071-1050
2071-1050
DOI:10.3390/su13084237