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Running Dry: Water, Development and Conflict

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Abstract

The global water crisis is fast growing into an issue of a common global concern. Many countries are trying to meet growing water demand by building reservoirs for storage, using canals, pipelines and even tankers to divert water from one area to another or unsustainably extracting groundwater. With greater pressure being placed on scarce water resources, water has increasingly become a source of social tension, bringing further competition and creating conflict. In the last two decades, though several competing countries have moved towards signing water-sharing agreements, the allocated water in these agreements in most cases is unable to meet the increasing demand. The scope for further development of river water is also becoming limited due to the possible impacts of global climate change.

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Swain, A. (2016). Running Dry: Water, Development and Conflict. In: Grugel, J., Hammett, D. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of International Development. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-42724-3_41

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