Two-thirds of the world’s water-related conflicts since 1990 were witnessed in the past decade
Photo: Reuters At least 1,473 instances of violence, conflicts and water-related issues have been reported worldwide between 1990 and 2023. Over 72 per cent of these incidents occurred in 2014-23, shows data released by US-based non-profit Pacific Institute in December 2023. This means that about two-thirds of all water-related conflicts since 1990 occurred in the past decade. Between 2014 and 2023, at least 1,063 conflicts and disputes over water were reported. In just 10 years, the number of such incidences has increased from 49 in 2014 to 117 in 2023—a 2.4-fold rise in water conflicts (see ‘Rise in conflicts’).
The pattern since 2019 is even more alarming. According to the Pacific Institute data, there were at least 671 incidents of water-related violence worldwide between 2019 and 2023. Comparatively, from 2014 to 2018, there were 392 instances of this type. This indicates roughly a 70 per cent increase in water-related conflicts over the past five years. Given that the data for 2023 only covers incidents from January to June, the numbers for the entire year is likely to be much higher. At least 117 confrontations related to water have been reported worldwide between January and June of 2023. This is over 138 per cent, or more than double the number of disputes that were reported in 2014.
Asia and Africa are the two main global hotspots of water-related conflicts, according to the Pacific Institute data. Almost 80 per cent of all conflicts worldwide are concentrated in these two regions. Among these are the conflicts in which water or water systems have been used as a weapon, a trigger, a target, or a victim of violence. Asia is the leading region for water conflicts, where around 57 per cent—or more than half of the conflicts and disputes—have been recorded. Africa is second, with close to 24 per cent—or one-fourth—of the conflicts, followed by Latin America and the Caribbean region (taken as a group, accounting for 10 per cent) and Europe (see ‘Dispute hotspots’).
Of the 228 cases recorded worldwide in 2022, a total of 109 were in Asia, spread across 17 countries. This is the largest number of cases documented in the region since 1990. There have been reports of 56 conflicts in 14 different Asian nations in 2023. Some 22 of these are the result of disputes between Palestine and Israel, shows the Pacific Institute database. In fact, a large number of cases in the past two years—between 2022 and 2023—have been due to growing tensions in West Asia and the Russia-Ukraine war. With increase in geopolitical tensions, water has been considered as weapon of war. The intentional attacks on civilian water infrastructure in the West Asia during the past two years, including those in Gaza and the West Bank, Yemen, Syria, Iraq and Israel, as well as the ongoing fighting in the Russia-Ukraine war, demonstrate that water has been a target or casualty of violence. In 2022, there have been at least 36 incidences in Russia-Ukraine, where water systems have suffered damaged. In June 2023, Nova Kakhovka dam, the Russia-occupied southern Ukraine suffered a collapse.
Drought and water stress linked to climate change has been a trigger behind rising conflicts in Africa. For instance, in the disputes across sub-Saharan Africa—which includes countries such as Burkina Faso, Mali, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Somalia, and Kenya—traditional herders and farmers continue to compete for scarce water resources.
In Burkina Faso, at least 32 water facilities were destroyed between January to May in 2022, impacting nearly 300,000 people. Targeted attacks ranged from direct hits on water points and water trucks, purposeful contamination of water resources to sabotaging public water network’s generators. “Disrupting civilians’ access to water is no longer a mere by-product of the conflict, it has become a weapon of war and marks a new, despicable turn in violence. For the sake, dignity and survival of an already exhausted population, this war on water must stop,” said Hassane Hamadou, country director for the Norwegian Refugee Council in Burkina Faso in a statement in May 2022.
In South Africa too, the unrest over the failure to provide safe water and sanitation is growing. Vandalism of water infrastructure continues to cripple the Eastern Cape municipality acknowledged the country’s water and sanitation department in a media report dated January 2023. Incidences of vandalism of the local pump station at Fort Beaufort and surrounding areas were reported that left the residents without the supply of water. These incidences over the years indicate link with climate change and water-related violences. With temperatures on the rise and rainfall becoming more erratic, climate change may contribute as a trigger for water conflicts across Asia and Africa.
India accounted for 43 per cent of reported water conflicts in Asia in 2019—a year when more than 40 per cent of the country faced drought and about 17 per cent was under severe drought, according to the Water and Climate Laboratory, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)-Gandhinagar. Close to 500 million people were severely affected during summer in country in 2019. That year, disputes over irrigation water and drinking water intensified, with the country witnessing 36 such incidents (see ‘India scenario’), as per Pacific Institute. These incidents were reported from several states including Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Punjab. But even this was an underestimation, shows data from India’s National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB). In its report, “Crimes in India, 2019”, which was released in 2020, NCRB says that the country saw 793 water-related disputes and protests across 11 states in 2019.
In 2023, the country recorded six cases, which was the second-highest number in Asia for the year. Thus, India was responsible for almost 11 per cent of water-related hostilities in Asia in 2023. Approximately 2 billion people globally do not have regular access to safe drinking water. There are 77 countries where the level of water risk is high or severe, meaning that over 20 per cent of the population live in areas without access to safe drinking water. There are now 25 countries where over 80 per cent of the renewable water supply is used, up from 17 just five years ago. While water risk is highest in sub-Saharan Africa, it is also increasing in the West Asia, North Africa, Russia and Eurasia. A 25 per cent increase in the number of people without access to clean water increases the likelihood of conflicts by 18 per cent, according to the “Ecological threat report, 2023” by the Institute for Economics and Peace, a think tank headquartered in Australia.
With climate change and human activities estimated to increase, the rising trend in conflict events could persist, with water resources becoming a more frequent cause of future conflict states “Water-related conflict and cooperation events worldwide: A new dataset on historical and change trends with potential drivers a scientific assessment of water-related conflicts, April 2023”, published in the journal Science of The Total Environment in April 2023. Identifying these complex cooperation-conflict changes is vital in determining future actions required to reduce conflict events and promote cooperation on water suggests the assessment of water-related conflicts led by researchers from Stockholm University and Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China.
This was first published in the State of India’s Environment 2024
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