EDITORIAL – Flashpoints

American and British forces pushed into Iraq yesterday in what coalition officials have described as an operation to bring freedom to Iraqis and eliminate weapons of mass destruction. There is another objective, less emphasized, in "Operation Iraqi Freedom" – the protection of oil reserves in the Middle East. This need to protect a region that holds the world’s richest oil reserves was one reason the international community moved quickly during the first Gulf War to stop the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait.

Experts warn that in the near future, wars will be fought not only over oil but also over an even more basic commodity: water. As World Water Day is marked today, experts warn that 158 of 263 basins that provide water to millions of people around the globe are potential flashpoints unless countries that share the basins cooperate in their use.

A study, launched by the United Nations Environment Program together with the UN Food and Agricultural Organization and Oregon State University to mark World Water Day, showed that many of the potential flashpoints are in Asia, Latin America and Africa. Rapid population growth could intensify tensions over the sharing of water resources for drinking, irrigation, fisheries and hydropower, the study showed.

Civilizations have long recognized the need for cooperation in the use of common water resources. The first treaty governing water use was recorded 4,500 years ago, between two Sumerian city-states. Since that first treaty, over 3,600 water cooperation agreements have been recorded in different parts of the globe, with 400 signed since 1820.

Still, the UNEP study sees a need for cooperative agreements in 158 out of 263 international water basins. Negotiating these agreements will require a great deal of "hydro diplomacy" that must be initiated soon before conflict erupts, according to the UNEP. As a war is waged in the Middle East, the international community must turn its attention today to yet another potential source of conflict – a commodity that is even more basic for survival than oil.