It is often said that we are more likely, in the future, to fight wars over water than over oil. Global warning, and changes to our climate, mean that this future possibility becomes more real every day.
In Bolivia, every year, the glaciers that supply water – for drinking and hydro-electric power – to cities like La Paz and El Alto are smaller. The Chacaltaya glacier, on which Bolivians used to ski has, famously, virtually disappeared. Bolivia’s principal disputes with its neighbours involve water and who controls it – the Rio Lauca with Peru, the Rio Silala with Chile, the existence of aquifiers under the parched landscape of the Chaco on the Paraguayan border. Even with Brazil, water is a major issue. The hydro-electric projects on the Rio Madeira threaten, according to environmentalists, to lead to substantial flooding in the Beni region of Bolivia if realised.
Diplomats and politicians should take note. Our aim is to prevent conflict. Water is an increasing source of that conflict. We should therefore be much more aware of the issues involved. It would be a tragedy if the source of life – unlike oil, we cannot live without water – became the principal source of conflict between nations. Who knows when our embassies might start to see the appointment of water attaches?