Water has become, since few years, just as a resource strategic oil . Who holds water, holds the power! This is not harmless if in 50 years, some programs of the United Nations have focused lending-related violence in water. well, this is not coincidence that Obama has put water in the heart of its foreign policy. The Americans seem to have incorporated the dynamics of water as factor for economic recovery and power.
one water crisis ...
It is clear that over the past 30 years our lifestyles have changed. Who says lifestyle, "said consumer and said said consumer needs water to produce. Thus, a number of region is currently suffering from water stress that could be described as modern, because of their recency. Thus, the Mediterranean, with 32% of global tourism, is in this situation. victim of its success, its growing water needs would be due to tourism. Remember, thereto, that each tourist consumes an average of 4 times more water than a local resident! Related to the increase of population, Ethiopia also suffers, in its way, water stress. In fact the country's population increased sharply in recent years and thus needs! Cradle of the Nile, Ethiopia, which consumes only 3% water of this river, provides more than 80% to its neighbors. To meet its new water needs to feed its population and cultivate their lands, the solution would be to increase its use of Nile water. But unfortunately, for historical reasons and Diplomacy, Egypt and Sudan, dealing with the management of the Nile, refuse to negotiate. Beyond the simple case of a crisis, even here the water appears as a geopolitical issue. If Ethiopia could operate on the Nile back to power, it would become, like Turkey and China, a power water. Besides, this event has not gone unnoticed by Americans who signed a special partnership with the country. Which brings me to my second point, the water war.
At a water war
While hydraulic power par excellence, China has yet to geographical and environmental anomalies . Representing 20% of the population world, the country holds only 7% of the world's freshwater. However, China does not hesitate to meet all its needs, to put pressure on Tibet, water tower of Asia, as well as the surrounding countries, positioning itself as the tap of the asia. In fact, the vast majority of rivers flowing into Asia through its territory. But this problem quantity added a quality issues, more serious still. Indeed, China does not care about pollution issues and jeopardizes its own reserves of water, so small they are. Add to this the finding of changes in consumption patterns among Asians. In fact, the export of our consumption (red meat, bread ...) implies a growth of our water needs. For example, for 15 kg of beef, it requires 15 times more water to produce 15 kg of wheat. More specifically, studies show that for the manufacture of a single hamburger requires about 6 thousand liters of water!
On these facts, it is necessary to highlight the issues of water, such as geopolitical issues both as a development factor but also as a power factor . Most importantly, these issues are hiding behind real food security issues, humanitarian issues and agriculture.
Sources: "Water, geopolitical issues, strategy" Franck Galland
