01-08 Politics - John Bulloch

Water politics is the future. Today it is the conflict created by the dam at Ethiopia that limits the flow of water down the Nile that provides fresh water for Sudan and Egypt. Tomorrow it will be water conflict between Canada and the USA because the USA will need it and we have it.

If we all remember how quickly the USA went from being isolationists to activists when they were invaded by the Japanese at Pearl Harbor, we can envisage just how quickly tensions will arise if California has another monster drought and there are political calls for Canada to pipe fresh water south.
The photo shows just how low one of California’s reservoirs went during the drought of 2015. With global warming, the issue of wildfires and drought will dominate California and USA politics well into the future.
Part of the solution is desalination plants, with the first in operation in San Diego and another planned for Santa Barbara. Hard to imagine desalination plants replacing the massive flows down river systems like the Colorado, already showing signs of major shrinkage.
My suggestions for Canadian politicians is to begin a public debate about a population of 100 million by 2100, increasing land for agriculture by thousands of square miles and the importance of our abundant water resources to make it all happen.
It is the only way I see Canada preventing its water resources from becoming a source of political confrontation.
The major water confrontation today is linked to the huge dam that has been built in Ethiopia. And when the dam is filled with water from the Nile it impacts water flows for Sudan and Egypt.
It looked like conflict would break out with Egypt bombing the dam. But instead it seems Egypt is resigned to building up to 65 desalination plants using its own technology to provide water for irrigation and drinking.
They are also looking to use desalination to reclaim large areas of desert, just as Israel has done. At one time 80% of the fresh water used by Egypt came from the Nile river.
The most interesting example of water politics is the new trade and investment agreements Israel has struck with the UAE and Bahrain. There is no nation in the world that is more advanced in water technology.
It’s desalination, irrigation, water treatment, water from air and vertical farming. The photo shows an Israeli vertical farming facility in the UAE.
When you examine the Middle East, you can see that nations like Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, and Iran are all facing a water crisis. What a great opportunity for Israel to use its water technologies to promote cooperation rather than conflict.