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TIMOTHY BANCROFT-HINCHEY: SPECIAL REPORT A special report by the World Health Organization claims that in future a severe shortage of water could lead to the outbreak of war among the worst affected countries, as a "thirst of gigantic proportions" is predicted. The report claims that in 15% of the world’s countries, more than 50% of the water is consumed upstream, meaning that the supply is exhausted before its river flow reaches other countries downstream. 67% of the world’s great rivers or underground water resources are shared. The countries identified by the WHO report as being most at risk are in central Europe and the Balkans and the Middle East, namely Hungary, Slovakia, Croatia and Serbia, Turkey, Syria, Iraq, Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia. Professor Santos Oliveira, of the Portuguese Faculty of Science and Technology in Lisbon, stated that Portugal and Spain could also suffer the consequences of a "water war". "The river Ebro is not enough for Spain’s needs, and so it is to be expected that they use the resources of the Tagus and the Douro". These are Portugal’s two main rivers, both of them having their sources in Spain and flowing downstream into central and northern Portugal. The capital, Lisbon, is fed by the Tagus and the mouth of the Douro is in Oporto, the second city. Professor Santos Oliveira pointed out that in rural Portugal, the main cause of homicide is disputes over water. The WHO report, "Water at the Service of Health", declares that every year, 3.4 thousand million people die of water-borne diseases. Most of the cases could be eradicated through simple personal hygiene or vaccination campaigns, and it is here that the developed world has much to do, since still today, 20% of humanity does not have access to safe water. It has been calculated that it will be necessary to invest 305 million USD over the next 14 years to address this issue. In another report on water resources, Price Water Coopers points out that the world’s water supply is over-exploited and this, coupled with a lack of planning of water resource consumption in most countries, is going to produce a "thirst of gigantic proportions". It is not the prerogative of any country to waste or pollute water, whether it is a river, a lake or a sea. We all live in the same world, and we are all linked by a common Ocean.
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