Part-1

Political Geography of Resources:

Resource Conflict

Dr Intikhab Ahmad
Assistant Professor
University of Delhi
 Objective

• The main objective of this lecture is to make

students aware of the geopolitics behind the
resources utilization and how it escalates tensions
and conflicts between the different countries.
 Resources

Renewable Non-Renewable

Fossil
Air, Wind Fuels
Water Non
Metallic
Minerals
Solar
Energy Metallic
Land Minerals
 Why the resources are Important
Important to the state as well:
• Economic assets
• Administrative
territories
• National image
• Geopolitical importance
• Possible global or
regional importance
 What do we study in political
Geography of Resources
Land and natural resources are important to local communities
in many different ways:

• Group &Territorial identity

• Political autonomy

• Asset (economic and social)

• Economic benefits
 Resources Conflict
• Conflict is “a disagreement between two or more people or
states who have differences in goals or methods for dealing
with a situation”

• Resource Conflict: refers any conflict or dispute which results

from improper distribution, unequal utilisation of usually
common resources.
 Types of Conflicts
At a broad level four types of resource conflicts can present a general
challenge to national stability:

1. secessionist conflicts in which resource-rich regions seek to split away

from the rest of a country; e.g- South Sudan, Jharkhand, Telangana

2. disputes over resources as part of a new national compact (i.e. in the

context of a peace agreement or new constitution);

3. grievances over standalone projects such as mines and hydroelectric

dams; and

4. the cumulative impact of multiple small-scale clashes, typically over

land, livestock or fresh water.
 Major Contentious Issues
One of four potentially contentious issues is typically at the heart
of these national or sub-national resource disputes:

• Ownership of the resource;

• Allocation of power for managing access to or developing the

resource;

• The distribution of resource revenues; and

• Environmental and social damage caused by extracting the

resource.
 Drivers of Resource Conflict
The drivers of conflict are most often multi-faceted. However, disputes
and grievances over natural resources can contribute to violent
conflict when they overlap with other factors, such as:

• Scarcity

• Abundance

• Inequality

• Poor Governance

• Trans-boundary natural resource dynamics and pressures

Inequitable Access to Land and Natural Resources
 Causes of Resource Conflict
The majority of conflicts results from a narrow range of causes.

• Economic Globalization

• Unsustainable Consumption

• Population Growth

• Economic Warfare in poor and developing countries

• Climate Change

• Technological Innovation and

• Market Mechanisms
 Who are to be affected….
• Threats to the environment impact
vulnerable people severely.

• The poor, landless, women and

indigenous peoples may be displaced
during struggles.

• Subsidiary rights are often critical to

vulnerable groups.

• When rights are abrogated, low level

conflict can erupt that often involves
environmental damage.
Photo: Chris Huggins
Historical Overview of resource Conflict
• Between 1965 and 1990 alone, 73 civil wars over resources occurred in
which more than a thousand people a year died, and at least 18
international conflicts have been triggered by competition for resources
since then.

• By the middle of this century, for example, it is predicted that the world’s
population will have exceeded 9 billion, global energy use will have
doubled, and global water demand will have increased by 55 per cent over
2012.

• The various trajectories, when taken together, strongly suggest that disputes
over resources will occur more frequently in future.

• It may not be too much of an exaggeration to suggest that politics in the

21st century will be shaped, in part, by how well these disputes can be
resolved.
 Historical Overview (Continuous)
• As governments continue on their current trajectory of
aggressively competing to control the planet’s scarce natural
resources, a number of factors all but guarantee a further
escalation of violent conflict in the immediate future.

• This includes a growing world population and a rapidly expanding

consumer class in developing countries, which is spurring an
enormous increase in demand for energy and raw materials.

• The impact of climate change will also further exacerbate

resource scarcity by dramatically constraining access to food,
water, land and other vital resources over coming decades.
 Conflict Prevention Strategies
• Establish or strengthen trans-boundary information, resource-
sharing agreements, joint institutions, and dispute resolution
processes.

• Designing conflict-sensitive resource management, adaptation

and development programmes.

• Conducting early warning, risk assessments and scenario

analysis to identify potential conflict hotspots.

• Supporting sustainable livelihoods and reducing vulnerability to

resource scarcity.
 Conflict Prevention Strategies (continuous)
• Increasing the availability of renewable resources through
protection, restoration, infrastructure and efficient use.

• Establishing the governance framework for natural resources,

strengthening implementation capacity and recognizing resource
rights.

Most disputes are resolved locally without any international

intervention, through existing legislative, judicial, traditional and
management mechanisms. Occasionally, however, national authorities
and local communities may be unable or unwilling to settle their
differences. In these cases, with the attendant risk of violent conflict,
the international community may have an important role to play
in helping to resolve the dispute.
 Agencies to deal with Resource Conflict
and Management

• United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)

• Department for Political Affairs (DPA)
• United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization (UNESCO)
• UN Waters
• UNDP Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Recovery (UNDP-
BCPR)
• World Food Programme (WFP)
• Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO)
Agencies to deal with resource conflict and
management (contd..)

• World Bank
• Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT)
• UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO)
• United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
(UNFCCC)
• UNDP Drylands Development Centre
• World Food Programme
 Conclusion
• Working through the UN system, the international
community could also reduce the pressure on global
resource reserves by channelling investment into
renewable resources and sharing alternative resource
management technologies as they emerge.

• The international community should approach

intervention with caution, and its primary role should be
to support the ability of countries to resolve their own
natural resource disputes: building local capacity
wherever possible, but providing impartial mediation
services where appropriate.
Thank You
 Part-2
International Water Conflicts
 Water Availability
• About 97 % of this amount is saltwater
and only 3 % is freshwater.

• The greater portion of freshwater (around

69%) is in the form of ice and permanent
snow cover in the Antarctic, the Arctic
and in the mountainous regions.

• Around 29% exists as groundwater.

• Only about 0.3% of the total amount of

fresh water (1%) on the earth is
concentrated in lakes, rivers, soil
moisture and relatively shallow
groundwater basins where it is most
easily accessible for economic needs and
extremely vital for water ecosystems.
 Common Property Resource

• CPRs are such natural resource that has no boundary

and territory and not owned by any country or any
person.
• Water as CPR
• Hydrological Cycle
• Changing Demand and utilization of Water
• Scarcity, Unequal Distribution of Water and
Population -12% of population uses 85% of water
Global Water Scarcity
 Concerns for Water Resource

• Inadequate access to safe drinking water by over 1.1

billion people

• Groundwater over drafting leading to diminished

agricultural yields

• Overuse and pollution of water resources harming

biodiversity

• Regional conflicts over scarce water resources

sometimes resulting in warfare
 Divers of International Water Conflict
• Water sources throughout the whole world remains to be
threatened by population explosions and its many
associated effects (like increase in industrialization,
urbanization, building dams, water pollution,
deforestation etc.)

• Developmental activities, have been increasing; poor

management and deficient planning of such activities will
led to the scarcity of water that may led to conflicts
between and within countries.
 Important Dimensions of Water Resource

• These are based on the three factors of timing, location

and reliability.

• Water resource issues are local or regional in nature:

adequate supplies in one region cannot assist water-
deficit regions unless there are facilities to transport
supplies between regions.

• Even in regions with large river flows, there can be a

great amount of variability in the water availability.
 Nature of Water Resources at Global
Level
• A key characteristic of the world’s freshwater resource is
its uneven distribution and variability with respect to time
and space, which is dictated largely by climate: conditions
ranging from arid deserts, with almost no rainfall, to the
most humid regions, which can receive several metres of
rainfall a year.

• At global level, arid regions already occupy 30% of

Europe, 60% of Asia, the greater part of Africa and the
south-west regions of North America, 30% of South
America, and most of Australia.
 Nature of Water Resources at Global
Level (contd...)
• Due to rapid global population growth, the potential water
availability for the earth’s population has decreased in recent
years.

• Reduction in annual per capita water supply (due to pollution

and population increase)
– Africa - by 2.8 times
– Asia - by 2.0 times
– South America - by 1.7 times
– Europe - by 16%
– Global - 5%
Causes of International Water Conflict
• “Conflicts over water arise form the fact that under
conditions of increasing scarcity, competition levels
also increase.”
Anthony Turton

– Conflict between countries often includes border disputes,

tensions over larger territories, multiple ethnic groups
within one area, competition for resources, and control of
strategic sites.
 Water Conflict
• Several region of the world are facing the problem of water scarcity in
recent years; as water is a necessary and fundamental resource.
However, fresh water is essential for human being and for their
economic development.

• As the global population is growing, the demands for drinking water is

increasing which is demanding more, production of food, sanitation, and
hydro-power generation, fibre crops etc.

• The ineffective procedure of distribution system and water supply in the

trans-boundary water and with the dealing of scarcity of fresh water will
be paramount importance for this common property resource. As states
progressively use the trans-boundary water resources that may lead to
tensions and threats of violent conflict.
 Water Conflict (continued)
• The worst areas comprise the entire Mediterranean region,
including parts of southern Europe, North Africa and Middle
East, Northwest and south India, Mongolia, northern China,
most of Sub-Sahara Africa and major regions in North and
South America and the western United States. They will face
severe water shortages in the coming years.
 Water Scarcity or Shortage
• Water shortage is becoming the greatest threat to food security,
human health and natural ecosystems.

• Rapid population growth and increasing water consumption for

agriculture, industry and municipalities have too heavily stressed
the world’s freshwater resources.

• But when does water scarcity become a serious problem?

– Countries with freshwater resources in the range of 1,000-1,600 cubic

meters per capita per year face water stress, with major problems
occurring in drought years.
– When annual internal renewable water resources are less than 1,000 cubic
meters per person annually, countries are considered water scarce.
 Water Scarcity: Observations

• Currently 28 countries with total population of 338 million are

considered water stressed, and 20 of these countries are
water scarce.

• By 2025, it is projected that 46 to 52 countries with an

aggregate population of 3 billion will be water stressed.

• Nearly half a billion people face water shortage problems, a

figure that is anticipated to rise to nearly two-thirds of the
world population by 2025.
 Trans-boundary Water Resource-Facts

• The world's 263 trans-boundary lake and river basins

cover nearly half of the Earth's land surface.

• A total of 145 nations include territory within international

basins, and 21 countries lie entirely within international basins.

• While most basins are shared between just two countries, there
are many basins where this number is much higher. There
are thirteen basins worldwide that are shared between 5 and 8
riparian nations. Five basins, the Congo, Niger, Nile, Rhine
and Zambezi, are shared between 9 and 11 countries. The river
that flows through the most nations is the Danube, which
travels within the territory of 18 nations.
UN, 2016
 Categories of International Water Conflict
The current categories, or types of conflict, now include:
• Control of Water Resources (state and non-state actors): where water
supplies or access to water is at the root of tensions.
• Military Tool (state actors): where water resources, or water systems
themselves, are used by a nation or state as a weapon during a military
action.
• Political Tool (state and non-state actors): where water resources, or water
systems themselves, are used by a nation, state, or non-state actor for a
political goal.
• Terrorism (non-state actors): where water resources, or water systems, are
either targets or tools of violence or coercion by non-state actors.
• Military Target (state actors): where water resource systems are targets of
military actions by nations or states.
• Development Disputes (state and non-state actors): where water resources
or water systems are a major source of contention and dispute in the
context of economic and social development.
 Major Water Conflicts

Several “hot spots”, can be identified regarding water

conflicts namely,

• the Nile (in Africa),

• the Jordan (between Israel and Jordan),
• the Tigris-Euphrates (shared by Turkey, Syria and Iraq),
• the Mekong (between Thailand and Vietnam),
• the Danube (between Czechoslovakia and Hungary),
• the Colorado (between Mexico and USA) and
• the Amu Darya and Syr Darya (in the Aral Sea Basin).
Fragmentation and Regulation of Rivers
 Nile River Basin
• Length- 6,853 km (4,258 mi) The
Nile is the longest river in the world.
• Width- 2.8 km (2 mi)
• Basin- 3,400,000 km² (1,312,747 sq
mi) covers about one tenth of the
African continent.
• Tributaries- White Nile, Blue Nile,
Atbara and Sobat
• Mouth–Lake Victoria & Lake Tana
• Riparian Countries –
• Egypt, Eritrea, Burundi, Ethiopia,
Sudan, South Sudan, Kenya,
Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda and
Democratic Republic of Congo
• Population: 424 million (2010)
 Nile River Conflict
• Egypt: Colonial agreement
– Historic and acquired rights

• Sudan:

• Ethiopia: Unilateral and bilateral development

of Nile water
– GERD
 Initiatives in the Nile Basin
• Increase in water demand, population and economic growth
have increased the pressure on water resources. States in the
Nile River basin confront with the challenges of setting up
self-holding and long lasting cooperation mechanisms to
consumption of scarce Nile waters in a best possible way.
 Initiatives (continued)
• Nonetheless, the requirement to share the Nile’s waters also holds the
possibility for cooperation.
• Actually, in last few years the riparian states prompt closer towards
cooperation and joint development efforts in the river basin.
• The major problem in front is to joint-developmental efforts in the basin
and to allocate water for its maximum uses while sharing the profits for
overcoming prevalent malnutrition, hunger and poverty in the region.
• Agriculture is the soul of the Nile Basin countries. Improvements in
agricultural productivity and productions are central issues to rural
development and enhancement to the prospects of attaining national and
regional food security.
• The major utilization of Nile’s water resources includes irrigation, fishing
and hydroelectric production etc.
• The Nile is an important source of water for household usages and is also
important for biodiversity and for tourism industries (Kasimbazi, 1998).
• To accomplish all these purposes, various dams have been and are being
constructed by downstream and upstream states.
 Water Management
• Water management is the practice of making decisions and taking actions
while considering multiple view-points of how water should be managed.
Water management deals with increasing country’s access to and the
sufficient usages of water and its resources. Such measurements will raise
the amount of commodities produced by improving the water availability
and will also increase its productivity by improving the returns to water
by, e.g. utilize water more effectively to irrigated crops.
• The gist is that water management is referred to better allocation and
utilization of available water to fulfill the demand. It also includes the
treatment of human beings in a way in which surface or ground water is
fascinated, carried out, consumed and drained in a definite land area.
• Furthermore, it is a process of social interaction between distinct stake-
holders, each applying different methods, resources, and strategies, around
the concern of water control (Ali, 2011).
 Water Management (Continued)
• Water is a critical resource at international and
regional level particularly in the Nile Basin
countries, so there is paramount need to manage
the trans-boundary resources.
• In the Nile River Basin, water management is the
cause of concern for water scarcity and food
security; the relationship between water and food
security is a tenuous one in the Nile basin region,
as the links between irrigation and agricultural
production remains fragile.
 Conclusion
As demand for water hits the limits of finite supply,
potential conflicts are brewing between nations that
share trans-boundary freshwater reserves. More than
50 countries on five continents might soon be caught
up in water disputes unless they move quickly to
establish agreements on how to share reservoirs, rivers,
and underground water aquifers. The presentation and
analysis examine international water disputes, civil
disturbances caused by water shortages, and potential
regulatory solutions to diffuse water conflict.
Thank You