Conflicts Over Water Soared to New High Last Year

The number of conflicts worldwide involving access to water reached an all-time high in 2023, a new report finds.

The Pacific Institute, a think tank, tallied 347 entanglements over water last year, up from 231 the year prior, part of a “disturbing trend,” the report said, “where access to water is regularly becoming a factor in armed conflicts around the world.” Authors said that, increasingly, droughts and floods are straining water systems around the globe, fueling greater conflict.

The report looked at skirmishes over water, as when a mob in Uttar Pradesh, India, killed a man for drinking from a public tap, as well as violent demonstrations, including one in Gauteng, South Africa, where locals blocked roads with burning tires to protest water shortages.

Analysts also examined conflicts where combatants cut off access to water. In January, a Russian attack on the Ukrainian city of Odesa left residents without water. In October, Israel cut off fuel supplies to Gaza, forcing the shutdown of its last desalination plant.

Major areas of concern, the report said, include the “persistent attacks by Israel on water systems in the West Bank and Gaza,” as well as growing conflicts over access to water in Africa, India, and Latin America, particularly in drought-afflicted areas.

“Drought and water scarcity is a major factor in the violence that we’re seeing over water resources,” Peter Gleick, cofounder of the Pacific Institute, told the Los Angeles Times. “And we know that climate change is going to continue to accelerate and that droughts are going to become increasingly severe and widespread.”