Water is the world’s most important commodity, but also its most underappreciated—until scarcity starts. Water scarcity runs in cycles, and reports of shortages, debates on policy, and conflicts about ownership and usage pop up every few years with the reliability and sameness of Fast and Furious movies. While those movies seem to have mercifully ceased, conflicts over water and reports highlighting the dire situation have not. Just this week, there were several headlines that discussed, directly or indirectly, water shortages and conflicts around usage. In this article, WPI looks at recent developments in the water scarcity discussion and contextualizes them amid the global scope of conflicts around water and its role as a huma...

TAGS – Wheat, Energy, Asia, China, India, Middle East & Africa, North America