Water, Security and Conflict

The document examines how water risks—driven by population growth, economic expansion, and climate change—contribute to political instability and food insecurity. It identifies three primary pathways to water insecurity: diminished supply or quality, increased demand, and extreme flood events. The text emphasizes that water crises are contributing factors rather than sole causes of conflict, with outcomes heavily dependent on a community's governance capacity and resilience. Proposed mitigation strategies include improving irrigation efficiency, implementing water demand caps, and strengthening governance systems.

• Water crises are not the sole cause of political instability and conflict but act as contributing factors.
• Water and security threats are categorized into three primary pathways: diminished water supply or quality, increased water demand, and extreme flood events.
• The likelihood of water-related conflict, migration, and food insecurity is significantly increased by weak governance, fragile institutions, and inadequate infrastructure.
• Irrigation is a major driver of water use, accounting for 70 percent of water withdrawals globally.
• Reducing water risk requires multifaceted strategies, including technical solutions like wastewater reuse and irrigation efficiency, as well as policy measures such as demand caps and watershed agreements.

APA

World Resources Institute (n.d.). Water, Security and Conflict. https://www.wri.org/research/water-security-and-conflict

Chicago

World Resources Institute. Water, Security and Conflict. n.d. https://www.wri.org/research/water-security-and-conflict.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Resources Institute |title=Water, Security and Conflict |url=https://www.wri.org/research/water-security-and-conflict |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldresourcesinstitutendwater, author = {{World Resources Institute}}, title = {{Water, Security and Conflict}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, url = {https://www.wri.org/research/water-security-and-conflict}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }