How Israel created a water crisis for Palestinians | It's Complicated

Water is one of the most precious resources in Israel and the Palestinian territories. But there is a stark imbalance in how this resource is distributed. In the occupied West Bank, Israeli-owned farms are flourishing, while Palestinians often do not have enough water to drink. And in Gaza, Palestinians are facing deadly levels of water shortage. Josh Toussaint-Strauss examines how Israel took control of the region's water supply and created a deadly scarcity crisis for Palestinians

Spain - Water scarcity in a vacation paradise

Water shortages in southern Europe are becoming an increasingly ominous problem. In Spain, the situation in 2023 is so acute that the worst-hit region of Catalonia had to introduce drastic water-saving measures back in April.
 

Weaponising water in Palestine

 

Decades of Israeli occupation have left Palestinians struggling to access clean water. Israel controls a majority of the freshwater resources in the occupied West Bank. And in Gaza, its 16-year blockade and military operations have had a devastating effect on the water supply. Monitoring groups say about 97 percent of the water supply in Gaza is contaminated and unfit for human consumption.

How far we go to solve the water crisis

Places around the world are drying up. Some say pulling an actual iceberg to your hometown can fix it. We'll take a look at this and some other crazy ideas to stop taps from running dry.

The fight for water

 

India water crises: Why millions in India are still without tap water

 

For millions of Indians, getting access to clean water is still a distant dream. People living in rural areas travel miles on foot, across harsh terrain, to collect water from sources that are not always clean.

In 2019, India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the Jal Jeevan (water is life) Mission, which aims to bring tap water to every Indian home by 2024. Millions of households have benefitted from the programme.

With just two years to go before the deadline, millions are still waiting to get clean tap water.

Why does water flow from a tree in Montenegro?

 

For a few days each year on a meadow in Montenegro, water can be seen gushing from the trunk of a 100-year-old mulberry tree. The natural phenomenon in the villa

When the Water Stopped: An Oregon town at its breaking point

 

In the western United States, climate change deepens a conflict over water between farmers and Indigenous tribes.

In Oregon in the United States, climate change is pushing a small town to its breaking point.

The federal government has supplied water to farmers in the Klamath Basin region for more than a century, part of a project to encourage white settlement and agriculture in the western US.

Mexico's struggle for water

 

“The United States took away our water. If there is no water if effects us in every way." The Colorado river used to flow through northern Mexico but, where once people used to fish and swim there is now a sandy river bed.

Pakistan’s Water Crisis

 With water wars predicted to escalate amid worsening climate change, we go undercover in Pakistan, where water thieves are proliferating.

One-third of the Himalayas’ glaciers are forecast to disappear by the end of this century, threatening the supply of water to nearly two billion people across South Asia.

The global fight over water

 

Water is fundamental to life, yet it’s also a scarce commodity. In many cases, greed and mismanagement are causing this life-giving essential to run dry. What happens when water is monetized?

Japanology Plus #117 - Tokyo Water

Tokyo was once known as the "city of water," but many of its rivers and waterways are now hidden from view. This time on Japanology Plus, we look at water in Japan's capital from various angles. Master brewer Shunichi Saito explains how tap water is used to make excellent sake

The Earth is Not Alone - Space Documentary HD

U.S. space agency NASA announced the discovery of more than 200 new planets on Monday, 10 of which are believed to be about the right size and temperature to support life. Of the 219 new suspected planets to have been discovered by NASA's Kepler telescope, 10 were found to exist in the so-called 'Goldilocks zone' of their solar system. This refers to the distance between the planet and their star, which is neither too hot nor too cold to support complex life. The presence of liquid water on these "rocky" Earth-like planets is seen as a key ingredient required for the existence of life.

Iraq's Dying Rivers

War and pollution plague the fertile crescent's Tigris and Euphrates rivers, leaving fishermen struggling to survive.

For thousands of years, two famous rivers, the Tigris and Euphrates, made Iraq one of the most fertile regions in the Middle East.

Often called "the cradle of civilisation", the first urban settlers grew up on the lands between the two ancient waterways. But today, things are dramatically different, - for the rivers and the people who depend on them.

Iraq's ancient rivers and water resources have been seriously damaged by wars, economic sanctions, the construction of upstream dams, pollution and a fall in water levels.

What can be done to ensure food security and preserve water?

Growth of global population to nearly 9 billion presents critical challenge to guaranteeing water and food security.

Over 800 million people live in hunger-stricken areas. The majority of those live in conflict zones.

Ensuring quantity and quality of water for survival, but also for food production in the context of agricultural intensification, is essential to mitigate the risk of mass migration conflict.

On this special edition of Inside Story from the Doha Forum, we ask: Are the current world food governance support systems enough to mitigate current risks?

If You're Going To Fire It Helps To Have Water

So, your fire truck has been sent to an actual fire except there's a "little" problem.  If there's no water in the fire trucks it makes it difficult to put the fire out.

A fire truck arrived at the scene of a blazing fire without firefighters realizing there was no water in its tank in Isa City, Kagoshima Prefecture, last month.

The Isa fire department revealed the incident this week, adding that firefighters had to fetch water from a nearby lake, which delayed the hosing down procedure by five minutes, Fuji TV reported. 

Furthermore, the fire department has decided to reprimand five fire chiefs for neglecting their duties. 

Iran's Water Crisis

We investigate the race to save Iran's water, before water scarcity dries out entire cities and displaces millions.

It is hard to imagine life without access to sufficient quantities of fresh water, but in some parts of the world, particularly the Middle East, that is becoming more than a theoretically disturbing possibility, as climate change, mass migration, environmental degradation, drought and political instability - among other issues - make the use and management of diminishing water resources an increasing challenge.

It's a particular concern in Iran, where a number of problems - not least the stifling effect of years of international sanctions - mean water depletion is now receiving some serious attention.

Polluted Paradise (video)

People & Power investigates New Zealand's water pollution problem as regional elections gear up.

New Zealand's pristine and abundant rivers and lakes have long been central to its proud reputation as a land of breath-taking natural beauty - and fundamental to a clean, green, outdoorsy brand that's used to attract millions of foreign visitors every year. 

But are its waterways really as sparkling and bountiful as the tourist ads suggest?

It seems not. 

Although the issue hasn't attracted huge global attention, for some years now campaign groups such as Greenpeace have been ringing alarm bells about the deteriorating quality - and curiously diminishing volume - of New Zealand's fresh water, problems they say are both directly attributable to the country's most profitable industry and in danger of being exacerbated by government-backed projects in support of that industry.

Japan fears losing control of its water rights

Morihiro Oguma's phone rang every day with calls from brokers representing foreign investors who wanted to buy his Japan Mineral water-bottling business.
"In many cases, I was told I could name my price," Oguma said in an interview, adding he had no interest in selling the Hokkaido-based company. "It seems what they really wanted was our rights to groundwater."
A two-decade slump in Japan's real estate prices, an incomplete land registry and lax rules on buying forest with water rights are attracting investors led by China and come amid a fraying of ties between the two countries over a territorial dispute.
While the relative size of land owned by non-Japanese remains small — 3,700 hectares (37 square kilometers) — almost a third of it is on Hokkaido. The island attracted 90 percent of forest purchases and non-Japanese investors bought 20 times more land in Hokkaido in 2009 than two years earlier, according to local government data.

Japan isn't the only place where the Chinese have bought up land rich in natural resources this has been happening in Africa as well. Leading to African nations coming to terms with their ability to provide for their growing populations if the natural resources are controlled by foreign investors.

"There emerged cases where we weren't sure about the reasons why investors were purchasing such vast areas of land," Takahashi said in a Tokyo press conference on Oct. 18. Hokkaido welcomes investment regardless of where the investor is from, yet needs to ensure proper use of water resources, she said.
China leads the purchases of Hokkaido forest and water rights with 21 transactions of a total 57. Hong Kong buyers using Virgin Island-registered offshore companies accounted for another nine and Singapore investors eight, said Masayuki Mitobe, the head of water and land economic research for Hokkaido's government. He said he could not name the investors due to privacy laws.