The French newspaper "Le Figaro" said that the areas of confrontation for access to water are increasing on the five continents with the increase in population and scarcity of resources, reviewing 12 potential flashpoints across the world.

Senegal and Mauritania... A dam in the coast

The newspaper considered that there is a fear that the operation of the Diama Dam on the Senegal River will contribute to rekindling the tension between Mauritania and Senegal due to the disruption of the fragile balance between pastoralists and farmers, against the background of the conflict that occurred between the two countries in the nineties.

This dam - as indicated by the newspaper - is managed by the Senegal River Investment Organization, which includes 4 member states: Senegal, Mauritania, Mali and Guinea, and feeds Lake Ghir in Senegal, Lake Al-Rukiz and the Aftoot coastal depression in Mauritania, and it works "alongside" with the Manantali Dam. In Mali to generate hydroelectric power for the region.

Slovakia and Hungary .. confrontation on the Danube River

In Europe - as the newspaper says - a dispute over the regulation of the waters of the Danube River poisons relations between Hungary and Slovakia after an agreement was concluded in 1977 aimed at reducing floods and facilitating navigation in this volatile river, and the International Court of Justice in The Hague - which brought the case before it, condemned 1993 - The two parties for not respecting the treaty.

Ukraine and Russia.. Crimea channel

Crimea's water supply has fueled Russian-Ukrainian tensions since the illegal annexation of the peninsula - according to the newspaper - by Moscow in 2014 after Kyiv authorities closed the gates of a canal dug in the 1960s to channel part of the waters of the Dnieper River to the island.

Since then, the region, which used to draw 85% of its drinking water from the canal, faced repeated droughts until the Russian army reactivated the canal immediately after its forces invaded southern Ukraine.

Lebanon... the water tower in the Middle East is drying up

For the first time, Lebanon suffers from "very high water stress", according to a report issued by the World Resources Institute, due to global warming and the serious crisis that the country has been going through since 2019, and if the consequences of this water crisis are confined to the country at the moment - as the newspaper says - They can extend to the regional level.

Parts of the Euphrates River in Iraq invaded by salinity (French)

Turkey, Iraq and Syria..the right to water is for the strongest

The levels of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, which cross Turkey, Syria and Iraq, have decreased due to large Turkish dams that reduce the flow of water to its neighbors. Iraq is suffering from drought for the third year in a row, and millions of Syrians may soon run out of water.

Ethiopia .. A dam on the Nile creates a regional crisis

The "Great Renaissance Dam" - which Ethiopia built on the Blue Nile, the main tributary of the Nile - is a source of great concern to Sudan and Egypt, located at the mouth of the river, who demand a halt to filling the dam's reservoir until a tripartite agreement is reached.


Yemen.. war and qat

In Yemen - which has been at war since 2015 - water is a strategic issue, because the level of water stress has reached 1,000 cubic meters, due to the 30-year use of qat production, which consumes 60% of the country's resources.

India and Pakistan .. the dispute over the Indus River

The Indus River originates in the Tibetan Plateau, passes through India before flowing into Pakistan and ending its course in the Arabian Sea. Upon partition in 1947, the lands it irrigates were transferred to Pakistan, but India retained most of the water supply - as the newspaper indicates - to release much of the water in the areas Flooded, conflict in Kashmir is fueling this crisis.

The Indus River in Pakistan (Getty Images)

China, Laos and Vietnam .. Dams on the Mekong River

The newspaper warned that the spread of hydroelectric dams built by China at the source of the longest river in Southeast Asia threatens the water supply for the 60 million people who depend on it for agriculture and fishing, from Laos to Vietnam through Burma, Thailand and Cambodia.

Canada and the United States.. an agreement in danger

The Columbia River Treaty, ratified by the United States and Canada in 1964, resulted in the construction of 4 huge hydroelectric dams to reduce flood risks and generate billions of dollars of electricity. Negotiations are underway between the two countries to modernize it, but American representatives who find it too expensive want to change it completely.

The United States and Mexico .. Drought fuels tension

The river in the southwestern US state of Colorado and Mexico has become drier, fueling tensions with Mexico, which must - under an agreement signed in 1944 - supply the southern US with 450 billion liters of water annually.

Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay .. Tensions in the Paraná River

In 1979, the three countries put an end to 10 years of conflict by signing an agreement on the joint exploitation of the waters of the Paraná River on the borders of the three countries, but the terms of the treaty, which expires in 2023, irritate Paraguay.