WATER - THE GLOBAL SECURITY FACTOR

Water -- whether saltwater, drinking water or freshwater -- is crucial for global security because it is essential for the survival of human and other forms of life. It covers 71 percent of the Earth's surface, mostly in oceans and other large water bodies. Saltwater oceans hold 97 percent of surface water. Water plays an important role in the world economy, as it functions as a solvent for a wide variety of chemical substances and facilitates industrial cooling and transportation. Approximately 70 percent of freshwater is consumed by agriculture.

However, in many parts of the world -- especially developing countries -- there is a water crisis. It is estimated that by 2025 more than half of the world population will be facing water-based vulnerability. In fact, to meet the challenge of feeding growing populations and the global hungry, massive reductions in the amount of food wasted after production are needed. The Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) released in August last year, a policy brief Saving Water: From Field to Fork - Curbing Losses and Wastage in the Food Chain, that calls on governments to reduce by half, by 2025, the amount of food that is wasted after it is grown and outlines attainable steps for this be achieved.

The report points out that tremendous quantities of food are discarded in processing, transport, supermarkets and people's kitchens. This wasted food is also wasted water. In the U.S., for instance, as much as 30 percent of food, worth some 48.3 billion dollars, is thrown away. That' like leaving the tap running and pouring 40 trillion litres of water into the garbage can -- enough water to meet the household needs of 500 million people. Through international trade, savings in one country might benefit communities in other parts of the world.

There is also a potentially explosive dimension to water. While the demand for water continues to increase, driven by population growth and economic development, scientists predict the Middle East could be the first region to cope with a dramatically reduced amount of water. The situation is already alarming. Salinity is rising in major watercourses such as the Euphrates and half the population of the region's large cities lacks an adequate drinking water supply.

But what if the countries in the Middle East had no choice but to get along in order to share the region's meagre water resources? This is the starting premise of Jon Martin Trondalen's book Water and Peace for the People, launched this month at UNESCO headquarters in Paris. The book offers a practical guide that suggests concrete ways to resolve these crises. Analysing what is at stake in each situation while making public new information, the author examines the conflicts in the Upper Jordan River between Israel and Syria around the Golan Heights, between Israel and Lebanon over the Wazzani Spring, and the longstanding water dispute between Palestinians and Israelis. Challenges confronting Turkey, Syria and Iraq in sharing water of the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers are also assessed. - Ramesh Jaura | GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES