“Water is so important that nations cannot afford to fight over it...”

In August 1995 World Bank Vice President Ismail Serageldin said that "if the wars of this century were fought over oil, the wars of the next century will be fought over water -- unless we change our approach to managing this precious and vital resource." This statement has been reported by the most important media and frequently used as a relevant reference in the analysis of future international relations and water resources management.

A research of the Oregon State University, however, shows a different course of historical events up to now. In the last 50 years water has rarely been object of disputes: only 37 of them involved violence, and most of these were connected to other political or social arguments.

An article  published on BBC News tries to explain why  “today, more than ever, it is time to stop propagating threats of ‘water wars’ and aggressively pursue a water peacemaking strategy”.