Last month UNESCO published a world-first map showing trans-boundary underground aquifers - layers of rocks or sediment containing water, many of which also happen to lie across the borders of two countries. The map identifies 273 cross-border aquifers: 68 in the Americas, 38 in Africa, 155 in Eastern and Western Europe and 12 in Asia. These aquifers hold 96 percent of the Earth’s freshwater and retain 100 times the volume of water that flows down rivers and streams. Some are already touting ‘Blue Gold’ as an ignition switch for future wars.

These aquifers, which are non-renewable, will see countries caught in "a race to the bottom," says Dr Mark Zeitoun a researcher on trans-border water policy at LSE. "Typically they are seen in much the same way as diamond mines." Although this might sound a bit like hyperbole, one billion people worldwide are without access to clean drinking water and a lack of water in many parts of the world is already causing populations to clash:

Groundwater Resources of the World

The 1995 agreement between Israel and Palestine is the most well known example of international water 'sharing'. Israel now holds the rights to 90 percent of the water contained in four aquifers which span both territories (plus the Jordan River). Palestinians are forced to buy water on the black market at often extortionate prices. This is seen as a major issue in Palestinian-Israeli negotiations.

A well in Rabdore, Somalia, during what local villagers call the "War of the Well"

During 2004-2006, 250 people died in heavy clashes over water wells in northern Somalia. The fighting, which was propelled by a three-year drought, raged alongside battles between Islamist-insurgents and Western backed governments.

The 17-year absence of a central government has seen the country divided into fiefdoms of warlords who manage water resources through violence. 11.5 million people were affected by the drought, and Somalia lost 80 percent of its livestock.

 In 2000, thirsty monkeys wounded ten villagers after tankers brought water to a drought-stricken area in north-eastern Kenya . The monkeys, desperate for water, brutally attacked the villagers, biting and clawing at them and throwing stones. Later the villagers returned, armed with axes and knives and drove the monkeys back, killing eight of them.

Water is also being used as a weapon (a la Moses) with warring sides targeting water systems in an attempt to cripple populations and infrastructure:

UN sanctions against Iraq from 1991 meant the country was unable to import the chemicals needed to upkeep water treatment facilities. By 2003, they where only operating at 35 percent of their capacity, leaving much of the population without water.

In 1993, Saddam Hussein poisoned and drained the water supplies of southern Shiite Muslims in order to subdue unrest against his government.


During the 1999 war, ethnic Albanian inhabitants of Pristina wait in a field near the Macedonian border at Blace after being forced from their city by Serbian forces
Retreating Serbian forces in 1999 cut off the water system to Pristina just before the NATO occupation to instil fear into the population.

Al-Qaida have threatened attacks on US water systems.

The value of a resource has always been determined by its scarcity, so when the climate has risen by those crucial few degrees and freshwater becomes even more precious, let’s hope we don’t find ourselves taking to the streets to protest the ‘war for water’.