Geopolitics, the debate

Blue gold at the heart of the war in Ukraine

In the suburbs of Mariupol, residents collect water on March 18, 2022. AP - Alexei Alexandrov

By: Amélie Beaucour

1 min

On the occasion of the World Water Forum held this week in Dakar, Senegal, we take stock of the current situation of blue gold. 

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While one inhabitant in three still does not have access to drinking water, international efforts are not going in the right direction.

Water is also a major issue in the war in Ukraine.

In Mariupol, a port city in the south-east of the country, civilians who could not be evacuated are forced to drink unsanitary water, drained from radiators or from polluted streams.

For the soldiers on the two fronts, water autonomy is also a non-negligible parameter and supply and sanitation areas are becoming conflict hotspots.

What supply solutions on the ground in Ukraine and in other conflict zones?

Where are we with the United Nations objective of guaranteeing access to water for all by 2030? 

We answer these questions with:

  • Franck Galland

    , associate researcher at the Foundation for Strategic Research and president of the ES2 consulting engineering firm, specialist in water-related security issues, author of

    Guerre et eau

     (Robert Laffont editions, 2021)

  • Alain Boinet

    , founder of the NGO Solidarité internationale and editor for 

    Défis solidaires

    , on the phone with us from Dakar.

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  • Water

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