PPT covering about international water disputes around the world and explaining further in depth about the topic

1. EVS PRESENTATION
(International Water Disputes)
• Student Name: Rishabh Mishra
• Section: E
• Course: BBA (2nd Year; 3rd Semester)

2. International Water Disputes
Water disputes is a term describing a disputes between countries, states, or
groups over the rights to access water resources. As freshwater is a vital, yet
unevenly distributed natural resource, its availability often impacts the living and
economic conditions of a country or region. Maritime boundary dispute is an
alarming issue all over the world. The countries are now becoming very much
concerned about their marine resources because the world economy has turned
into ocean-based resources
Maritime boundary dispute is a dispute relating to demarcation of the different maritime zones
between or among different coastal states. When the dispute gets serious, they try to settle it
according to different methods of the settlement, but in most of the cases, the parties of the dispute
fail to reach an agreement on settlement. Many bilateral or multilateral talks are held among them
with the help of different organizations and mediator parties which delay the settlement.

3. Reasons behind water disputes
1. Physical and economic water scarcity
It is useful to make a difference between physical and economic water scarcity. If a
region is experiencing physical scarcity, the upper limit of the annually renewable
water for different uses (human and ecosystem uses including) has been surpassed
and backstopping options such as groundwater mining from non-renewable
resources are not available or already exhausted. In the case of economic water
scarcity, sufficient amounts of water are available, but economic, human and
institutional capacities for allocating it are severely limited.
2. Water for different uses
As we focus on water control and development disputes, it is useful to make a
difference between water for agriculture (approx. 70% of global withdrawal), for
industry (20%), and for domestic uses (approx. 10%). While the quality of water is
vital for drinking water, the quantity aspect is predominant in the agricultural sector.
Water related conflicts can occur on local, national, regional and global level.

4. 3. National level
At the national level, the question of land use and water rights, as well as
infrastructure development, may lead to conflicts, yet these are generally dealt
with in a non-violent manner. Rather than violent conflict, the challenge is more
one of lack of sustainable development, or development on a national level that
leads to conflict on a local. Both local and national water related conflicts are
more likely in economically water scarce countries, as it is more a challenge of
infrastructure and management, rather than about water quantity per se.
4. Regional level
On a regional level, conflicts often arise over shared river basins or
transboundary groundwater. Tensions at this level tend to be more diplomatic and
economic, than violent. In the case of shared surface water, disputes often arise
over the quantity and timing of upstream releases in relation to downstream
demands.

5. 5. Climate change
Climatic change will impact water availability globally. However, the direction and
magnitude of regional changes in future precipitation is often not well known.
Especially in the dryland regions of the globe, less frequent, higher intensity
precipitation events are expected. For global temperatures, there exists a near
uniform consensus on increasing trends as a function of present and future
greenhouse gas forcing.

7. Some of water disputes in recent
times
• Dispute over water in the Nile Basin
• Dispute in South China Sea
• Turkey, Syria and Iraq Conflict over the Euphrates-Tigris
• Dam projects and disputes in the Mekong River Basin in China
• Droughts, livestock prices and armed conflict in Somalia
• Yellow Sea Conflict between China and Korean Peninsula
• Arctic Circle Territorial Dispute
• Indus River Basin Water allocation problem

8. Maritime Territorial Disputes
(International)
1. South China Sea Territorial Dispute
2. Arctic Circle Territorial Dispute
3. India-Bangladesh Dispute

9. Arctic Circle
Dispute
India-Bangladesh
Dispute
South-
China Sea
Dispute

10. 1. South China Sea Dispute
• The South China Sea disputes involve both island and maritime claims by
several sovereign states within the region, namely Brunei, the People's Republic of
China, Taiwan, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Vietnam. An estimated
US$3.37 trillion worth of global trade passes through the South China Sea annually,
which accounts for a third of the global maritime trade. 80% of China's energy imports
and 39.5 percent of China's total trade passes through the South China Sea.
• Reasons for disputes are mainly over contesting Claims Over Islands by different
nations. These are the Paracel Islands, the Spratly Islands and the Scarborough Shoal.
• Under the Law of the Sea Convention, all states have a right to 200 nautical mile
“exclusive economic zone” to exploit the resources of the sea and seabed, as measured
from their land territories. Where these zones overlap, countries are obliged to negotiate
with other claimants. This has yet to happen in the South China Sea, which is the source
of many of the current tensions.

12. Background
• China’s sweeping claims of sovereignty over the sea—and the
sea’s estimated 11 billion barrels of untapped oil and 190
trillion cubic feet of natural gas—have antagonized competing
claimants Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan,
and Vietnam. As early as the 1970s, countries began
to claim islands and various zones in the South China Sea,
such as the Spratly Islands, which possess rich natural
resources and fishing areas.
• In recent years, satellite imagery has shown China’s increased
efforts to reclaim land in the South China Sea by physically
increasing the size of islands or creating new islands
altogether embroiling the situation in East and South-East
Asian regions over territorial claims.

13. 2. Arctic Territorial Dispute
• The Arctic Circle is the polar region in north of the Earth. There are five
different types of territory within this circle: land, internal waters, territorial
seas, exclusive economic zones (EEZs), and international waters. Internal
waters are waters adjacent to land, such as bays or rivers. Territorial seas are
seas that extend for up to 12 nautical miles beyond land. EEZs are seas that
extend 200 nautical miles from land where a sovereign state can exercise
exclusive rights to marine resources. International waters are seas subject to
customary international law rather than sovereign jurisdiction.
• There is one single disputed piece of land in the Arctic—Hans Island—which
is disputed between Canada and Denmark because of its location in the
middle of a strait.

15. Background
• The status of certain portions of the Arctic sea region is in dispute for
various reasons. Canada, Denmark, Norway, Russia, and the United
States all regard parts of the Arctic seas as national waters (territorial
waters out to 12 nautical miles (22 km)) or internal waters. There also are
disputes regarding what passages constitute international seaways and
rights to passage along them.
• Under international law, the North Pole and the region of the Arctic
Ocean surrounding it are not owned by any country. The five
surrounding Arctic countries are limited to a territorial sea of
12 nautical miles. The waters and sea bottom that is not confirmed to
be extended continental shelf beyond the exclusive economic zones
are considered to be the "heritage of all mankind." Fisheries in these
waters can only be limited by international treaty and exploration and
exploitation of mineral resources on and below the seabed in these
areas

16. 3. India-Bangladesh Dispute
• India and Bangladesh share over 4000 kms of border, with the
International Boundary being the largest land border that India shares.
IN THE relationship between India and Bangladesh, the dispute over
Ganga waters is an important component, perhaps the most important
one.
• In the relationship between India and Bangladesh, the dispute over
Ganga waters is an important component, perhaps the most important
one. The construction of the Farakka Barrage in India along the
Ganges has created water stress in Bangladesh by exacerbating the
dry season and increasing the likelihood of flooding. The two countries
have engaged in various levels of negotiations but have not yet agreed
upon a solution to augment the Ganges to meet the needs of both
states, particularly in the context of changing climate conditions.

18. Background
• This 2500km river is joined by the Yamuna river the largest tributary of
the Brahmaputra, after this point it changes its name to Meghna. It
eventually flows out into the bay of Bengal.
• In 1974, India opened the huge Farakka barrage 11km from the
Bangladesh border. Further upstream, much of the water is divided to
irrigate farms and provide water for major cities. Many of the major cities
use the rivers to carry waste and industrial sources. Bangladesh suffer for
this, get deprived of water, what it gets is often polluted.

19. Response and Mediation
• There have been both international and bilateral attempts at solving the
Ganges water dispute. India and Bangladesh established the Indo-
Bangladesh Joint Rivers Commission in 1972, with the purpose of
negotiating an agreement on how to regulate water distribution. However,
failed negotiations through the commission in 1976 led to the involvement
of the United Nations General Assembly, which encouraged India and
Bangladesh to continue negotiations at a ministerial level.
• In 1977, the Ganges Waters Agreement was negotiated, which regulated
water distribution for five years. It was not until 1996 that a formal treaty
was signed. The treaty is known as the Ganges Water-Sharing Treaty and
regulates water distribution from Farakka Barrage over a thirty year period.
However, the treaty fails to account for climate change impacts and their
effects on the distribution of water.

20. Thank You