2012 NGWA Ground Water Summit: Innovate and Integrate

Future conflicts in the world are projected to be increasingly related to a scarcity of resources, and in particular, water and groundwater. As population grows, demands for water to supply agriculture and industry, for municipal supply, and for energy needs will place competing communities and nations with a fundamental need to acquire water resources. In arid and semi-arid regions this resource can be largely groundwater, and in time of drought and/or natural disaster, competition for water supplies can be the final measure determining a community's survival. This session will examine factors fomenting conflict, the likelihood of conflict, and the potential areas where a change in the amount, quality, or allocation of groundwater would have destabilizing effects.