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Water shortages and other water problems are mainly caused by the
unavailability of water itself. This is a concern in the international
community but unfortunately not a major one. The dilemma that is created by
Earth’s water is something which will create chaos in the near future but
the international community seems not to give it the importance it deserves.
Many countries are forced to buy water from other countries or use a
neighboring desalinization plant; at first this seems very cooperative and
smart. On the other hand when you look closer, there are major conflicts
which are created by the shared use of water. For example, in troubled
regions like the Middle East which has been through many wars, and is
currently going through many internal conflicts the use of water in most
countries of the region is being rationed. Another case in point is Syria and Israel. Israel needed the use of Syrian water from the Sea of Galilee, which Syria agreed to. Unfortunately Israel required 40% usage of the sea’s water which would have left an inadequate amount for Syrians. Now this has become the cause of many political as well as military conflicts between the two nations. Another incident involves Israel and Jordon. In 1993, Jordon agreed to split water equally between the two nations but Israel had taken more than it was allocated in their contract. This created a large water shortage in Jordon and led Jordanians to drink sewage water. In the world of politics, water shortage is discussed by hot-headed politicians who are never able to find a formidable solution; this aggravates the problem ten fold. This mainly creates more conflicts between nations which leaves the needs of singular nations in the background. Nations argue over maritime borders, and in deciding on the distribution of water. This is usually hastily and unfairly resolved, because the stronger nation usually gets its way never realizing that a “quick fix” idea will later cause a greater conflict. Water shortages cause many disputes between countries, with some disputes leading to wars between nations. It is unfair to the people of a nation when they are denied water because of disputes or arguments that are political. Turkey, Syria, and Iraq: These countries are going through a major water incited political concern because all of them have low water resources. Unfortunately these three countries rely mainly on two rivers, the Tigris, and Euphrates. disputes arise because a will planned system of distribution has not been agreed on, due to the different levels of needs for the people of each country. America and Mexico is another example, American water was being smuggled into Mexico from the state of Colorado, which created political tension and mistrust between the two countries. In addition to that, America pumped polluted water into Mexico which killed thousands of people. Another fact that has to be mentioned is that many American industries dump their wastes into water channels that run into Mexican water territory. All of these incidents and other political issues continue to aggravate the dilemma of the availability and distribution of fresh drinking water.
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