The Analysis of Water Wars in Order to Achieve Sustainable Water Peace

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 PhD Student, Faculty of Engineering, Islamic Azad University, Central Tehran Branch, Tehran, Iran

2 Assistant Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Islamic Azad University, Central Tehran Branch, Tehran, Iran

3 Assistant Professor of Law Department, Payam Noor University, Tehran, Iran

Abstract

However water is looked at, whether it be economically, politically, socially or environmentally, it is the most vital element in human life. The shortage of fresh water resources on the one hand, and its heterogeneous spatial and temporal distribution in terms of quantity and geographical boundaries on the other hand, has caused water and its division to be one of the most important issues at the national and especially transnational level in cross-border catchments.
Given that water is used as a source of life and can instigate war and violence, this study addresses how water can be seen as an opportunity to achieve lasting peace.
In this study, water wars were studied according to various dimensional, factorial and spatial scales. In the process of writing this study, 926 conflicts and wars were identified in which "water" played the role of "agent", "weapon" and "casualties". It is very important to note that the agent and stimulus for more than 30% of these wars have been water. In this study, the terminology of "peace" was also discussed and a comprehensive definition of "sustainable water peace" based on influential factors was presented. This was because, according to various researches and studies carried out, achieving a positive interaction, especially with regards to transboundary water allocation, is one of the most important concerns of the parties in water negotiations.

Keywords

Main Subjects

References

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