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According to the UN General Assembly’s resolution of 2010, every person on earth has the right to clean water and good sanitary conditions. Water scarcity is one of the biggest problems of our time and the seed of conflicts. For those of us who live in Norway, water is something we don’t think about much, it’s literally on our heads constantly. But the fact is that water shortages in large parts of the world are becoming a bigger problem. The reasons are partly that we have a change in the climate which means that areas with little water are becoming increasingly drier and that a large part of the population increase in the world is happening in areas where water is already a scarce resource.

Water shortages and conflicts

Water is a scarce resource in many places and has been the cause or a contributing factor in several wars over the years. Today, there are also major conflicts related to access to water. Conflicts that can lead to war.

Ethiopia built a large dam on the Nile. The irritation from Egypt and Sudan is great. Egypt and Sudan lie downstream of Ethiopia. The countries fear that Ethiopia will destroy the water supply in the lower part of the Nile.

There is also a shortage of water in some places in Europe. On the Crimean Peninsula, which was annexed by Russia in 2014, there are major problems with the water supply. There is little fresh water in Crimea and previously the peninsula was supplied with water that came from an artificial canal from Ukraine. When Russia annexed Crimea, Ukraine closed this water source. Today there is a major water shortage on the Crimean Peninsula. Russia has tried to drill for groundwater, but the groundwater there is mostly so salty that it cannot be used. A lack of water in Crimea could lead to Russia using this as a pretext to invade parts of mainland Ukraine.

Water and population growth

In areas in Africa and Asia that already lack water, there is also a large increase in population. For many, it is the children who will take care of their parents when they get old. Having many children is a form of guarantee of a good old age in areas where pensions are an unknown concept or are very small.

Of course, the use of contraception is also important. One of the problems is the religion’s view of contraception. Both Muslims and in some Christian groups, contraception is not accepted. As long as contraception is seen as forbidden for religious reasons, the problem of population growth will persist.

The problem of water shortage will increase

Lack of water will be an even bigger problem in the future than it is today. Water shortages can lead to increased migration from areas with little water. Areas that become uninhabitable because the water disappears will also not have the opportunity to house the people who live there.

We know that people on the run can create conflicts. We can see conflicts in Europe with immigration. We can see such conflicts in other parts of the world as well. This in itself is an argument for doing something about the climate crisis and it is urgent. Further warming will lead to greater drought in areas that already have little water. Another problem is of course that new areas will also become dry. Many fear, for example, that large parts of Spain may become desert.

Sources

Watherlogic: UN Human Rights Day

NRK: UN: 3.6 billion are affected by water shortages

People and Defence: Water shortage – a source of conflict

Defense forum: Sudan, Egypt and Ethiopia hope to resolve conflict