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1、PeaceinthepipelineVIEWPOINTByAaronWolf,AnnikaKramer,AlexanderCariusandGeoffreyDabelko"Waterwarsarecoming!"thenewspaperheadlinesscream.Itseemsobvious;rivalriesoverwaterhavebeenthesourceofdisputessincehumanssettleddowntocultivatefood.Evenourlanguagereflectstheseancientroots:"rivalry"comesfromth
2、eLatinrivalis,or"oneusingthesameriverasanother".Asthenumberofinternationalriverbasinsandimpactofwaterscarcityhasgrown,sodothewarningsthatcountrieswilltakeuparmstoensureaccesstowater.In1995,forexample,WorldBankVicePresidentIsmailSerageldinfamouslyclaimedthat"thewarsofthenextcenturywillbeaboutw
3、ater,"asentimentechoedregularlyeversince.Theseapocalypticwarningsflyinthefaceofhistory.Nonationshavegonetowarspecificallyoverwaterresourcesforthousandsofyears;theonlydocumentedcaseofwarwithsuchaspecificcausewasbetweenthecitystatesofLagashandUmmaontheTigrisRiver4,500yearsago.Internationalwater
4、disputes-evenamongfierceenemies-aregenerallyresolvedpeacefully,evenasconflictseruptoverotherissues.8Today,morethanever,itistimetostoppropagatingthreatsof'waterwars'andaggressivelypursueawaterpeacemakingstrategyWhy?Becausewaterissoimportantthatnationscannotaffordtofightoverit.Instead,waterfuel
5、sgreaterinterdependence.Bycomingtogethertomanagetheirsharedwaterresourcesjointly,countriescanbuildtrustandhelppreventconflict.Bycrying"waterwars,"doomsayersignoreapromisingwaytohelppreventwar:co-operativewaterresourcesmanagement.LocalissuesOfcourse,peoplecompete-sometimesviolently-forwater,wh
6、ichisnotonlyessentialtolifeonEarth,butalsoincreasinglyscarce.Developingcountries,oftenlocatedinaridandsemi-aridregionsexperiencinghighratesofpopulationgrowth,areespeciallythreatenedbywaterscarcity.Thesecountriesoftenlackthehuman,institutional,andtechnicalcapacityneededtomanagewaterscarcityand
7、itsassociatedeconomic,agricultural,health,andpoliticalchallenges.Withinanation,users-farmers,hydroelectricdams,recreationalusers,environmentalists-areoftenatodds,andtheprobabilityofa8mutuallyacceptablesolutionfallsasthenumberofstakeholdersris