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Creating Climate-Secure Water-Sharing Treaties
In light of the recent news of armed bandits demanding water in India, and on-going water tension in Iraq and Syria, we are cross-posting the below post from Thomas Currant at the New Security Beat titled “Climate Change Will Test Water-Sharing Agreements.” The post looks at a working paper by a group of researchers at the World Bank, “Climate Change, Conflict, and Cooperation: Global Analysis of the Resilience of International River Treaties to Increased Water Variability.” Neil Bhatiya, with The Century Foundation, also wrote a good summary of the working paper, “Designing an Ideal Water-Sharing Treaty.” (more…)
The New World of Climate Suffering: Harsh Realities Explained by Paul Wapner
© Dr Michel Royon / Wikimedia Commons
This is a cross-post from New Security Beat, written by Paul Wapner.
To date, there have been two proposed responses to climate change: mitigation, aimed at stopping the buildup of greenhouse gases, and adaptation, focused on accommodating ourselves to a warmer world. There is a third option, however, that is increasingly relevant: suffering. (more…)
New “Water Security” Four-Volume Set
Sage Publications is offering Water Security: Four-Volume Set edited by Anders Jägerskog, Stockholm International Water Institute, Ashok Swain, Uppsala University, Joakim Öjendal University of Gothenburg, with contributions from some of the best water minds out there (it’s pricey, but very good). Given the severe drought in California, the floods on the U.S.-Canada border, and the precarious situation of water control in Iraq, there are bound to be timely and interesting articles within the set. In addition to these volumes, we’d recommend researching the contributing authors, as many of their other writings are available online and worth a read.
Water security, and specifically water security in the context of a changing climate, is a critical issue that deserves more attention in both the research and policy fields. These volumes are an important contribution in this space.
New US GAO Report: Arctic Maritime Infrastructure
The US GAO recently released a new report, Maritime Infrastructure: Key Issues Related to Commercial Activity in the U.S. Arctic over the Next Decade. Based on interviews with industry representatives who are in the process of exploring the region’s commercial readiness, the report found “general challenges related to operating in the Arctic, such as geography, extreme weather, and hard-to-predict ice floes.” These challenges make commercial activity difficult, but they also impact search and rescue missions, research, Coast Guard patrols and general operability. The main recommendation from this report is to prioritize two near term, broad categories: ” information infrastructure, such as mapping and charting, and response services, such as search and rescue.” (more…)