Where is the Water?
People often move to cities due to their numerous benefits, including the possibility of economic success and a higher quality of life. Yet, in our analysis of modern cities, it is obligatory to acknowledge that rapid, unplanned urbanization has adverse effects on the lives of citizens. While many low-income individuals move to cities in third-world countries due to their hopes of advancement, they often find themselves gravitating towards slums that proliferate across megacities. In many third-world countries, urban growth weakens the government’s ability to provide citizens with necessities such as water. The scarcity of water creates international conflict between nations and regions that struggle with accessing fresh water. The water crisis and the rise in water conflicts in third-world countries illustrate that many countries are unable to cope with recent population growth and urbanization.
Water is a fundamental need, yet it is becoming increasingly inaccessible for people in third-world countries. Surprisingly, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reports that less than one percent of all water on Earth is usable and accessible. People in the United States generally do not face water scarcity. According to the EPA, the average American family uses more than 300 gallons of water per day. As a result, we do not understand the gravity of water scarcity on a first-hand basis like those that live in Nepal, Nigeria, or Ethiopia, where average families consume about twenty times less water daily. The massive discrepancy in water consumption between third-world and first-world countries is due to poor water management and the lack of a proper sewage treatment system. Additionally, third-world countries lack the necessary capital to fund water programs that would alleviate the pressure of water scarcity on most but not all of their citizens. Furthermore, the United Nations confirms that more investment in these programs would ensure a more regular supply of fresh water in the long term for third-world countries.
Water scarcity is not only a humanitarian crisis but also the cause of multiple international conflicts. Speaking to the United States Senate about global water scarcity, General Anthony Zinni, a former commander of the U.S. Central Command, said: “We have seen fuel wars; we’re about to see water wars.” While not commonly seen in the daily news, water wars are a significant concern to the United States government. Water scarcity forces nations and people to put themselves before others, intensifying tensions among neighboring regions or countries. Dr. Peter Gleick wrote that this competition for limited resources would lead to nations seeing water scarcity as a matter of national security. These water conflicts are not merely conceptual; in Nigeria, in 2014, over a thousand people were killed due to violence between farmers and herders who fought over access to water resources. The Pacific Institute’s online water conflict chronology illustrates many similar disputes that have arisen primarily in regions such as East Africa, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia.
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Water conflicts are being caused by haphazard urbanization and the massive population growth within urbanizing third-world countries. Since 2010, the Pacific Institute has reported 500 instances of conflict across the globe. Compared to 200 from 2000-2009 and 175 from 1990-1999, this marked increase in water conflicts is intriguing, not to mention statistically significant. The relationship between time and water conflict is meaningful since, in the last two decades, the Earth’s population has risen by two billion people. As Dr. Gleick and General Zinni illustrated in their reports, conflicts arise as more people compete for scarce resources. Since no clear plan has been put forth to solve water issues in East Africa, the Middle East, or Southeast Asia, where many water conflicts occur already, we can expect these water conflicts to worsen. Continued haphazard urbanization will only lead to more people competing for fewer resources in these troubled areas.
One country that clearly demonstrates the connection between urbanization, water scarcity, and water conflict is India. In 2013, a water shortage in the Ahmednagar district, of Maharashtra, India, led to fights among the locals when the town was on the brink of a significant water crisis. Additionally, in 2019, shortages in Madhya Pradesh, India intensified during a heatwave, which led to violence among Indian civilians over water from a water tank truck. There are more than thirty other examples that seem to prove that most regions of India are on the brink of major water scarcity and have no viable long-term replenishable water resources. There are already 160 million people without a consistent water supply in India. Given the clear correlation between population growth and water scarcity and the expected rise of the Indian population to 1.6 billion by 2050, it is clear India’s water problems will only become direr.
In observing the water scarcity phenomena, it is imperative for us as a society to take action. While many first-world countries have stepped up and provided funds to third-world countries to set up water programs, there has not been enough action to diminish the current humanitarian crisis. Water scarcity should not be a problem that a country must face on its own. It is my understanding that international cooperation is necessary to ensure that third-world countries are healthy and peaceful communities. Although the United States cannot control how many people move to megacities and how greatly the population rises, we can control how much aid we give. Yes, the support given by first-world countries will still not satisfy all the increased demand for water, but it will point third-world countries, on the brink of water scarcity, in the right direction.
Water scarcity is one of the problems of urbanization. As more people come to a city that cannot handle massive increases in population, health conditions deteriorate. A country like India has shown that more city dwellers mean more people living in poverty without access to necessities such as fresh water. As freshwater becomes more scarce, conflicts will continue to erupt between countries and regions. Given that many wars have been fought over natural resources in the past, it would not be surprising for water to be a leading source of confrontation in future conflicts. Although not in the daily news, water conflicts are real and stem back to increases in urban populations. While the process of urbanization cannot be stopped, more aid can be given, and more countries can take an active role. If assistance is not provided, we will have failed as a society, and we will observe a catastrophic but preventable humanitarian crisis.
Works Cited
- “Avoiding Water Wars: Water Scarcity and Central Asia's Growing Importance for Stability in Afghanistan and Pakistan.” The United States Senate, 2011, www.foreign.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/Senate%20Print%20112-10%20Avoiding%20Water%20Wars%20Water%20Scarcity%20and%20Central%20Asia%20Afgahnistan%20and%20Pakistan.pdf
- Express News Service. “NHRC Asks Maharashtra to Probe into Riot, Death Due to Water Shortage.” The New Indian Express, 13 May 2013, https://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/2013/may/13/NHRC-asks-Maharashtra-to-probe-into-riot-death-due-to-water-shortage-476737.html#.UztU8vldWSo
- “Financing water.” The United Nations, 2014, www.un.org/waterforlifedecade/financing.shtml
- “How We Use Water.” EPA, Environmental Protection Agency, 5 Feb. 2018, www.epa.gov/watersense/how-we-use-water
- Pacific Institute Water Conflict Chronology. Pacific Institute, Oakland, CA. https://www.worldwater.org/water-conflict/
- Ritchie, Hannah, and Max Roser. “Urbanization.” Our World in Data, 13 June 2018, https://ourworldindata.org/urbanization
- “'Water Wars' Intensify, Madhya Pradesh Police Told to Guard Tankers: Bhopal News - Times of India.” The Times of India, 2019, timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bhopal/water-wars-intensify-madhya-pradesh-police-told-to-guard-tankers/articleshow/69699330.cms
- “19% Of the World's People without Access to Clean Water Live in India.” Down To Earth, www.downtoearth.org.in/news/water/19-of-world-s-people-without-access-to-clean-water-live-in-india-60011
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