From http://au.news.yahoo.com/060721/2/zuyk.html
A worldwide lack of water and energy supplies could spark wars,
warns former Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev.
Delivering the opening address at the Earth Dialogues forum in
Brisbane, Mr Gorbachev said resources such as water had become so
scarce that basins of major rivers shared by several countries
could one day become sites of military conflict.
"Clean drinking water, and water that can be used for irrigation,
is in short supply in many countries, even today," Mr Gorbachev
said.
"In 2001, secretary general of the UN (United Nations), Kofi Annan,
said that in the new century we may see wars over water, rather
than over oil, and that is not an exaggeration.
"The probable site for military conflicts could be basins of major
rivers that are shared by several countries, such as (the) Ganges,
Mekong ... Zambesi, the Orange River, Okavango, Senegal and
others."
Mr Gorbachev said another potential source of conflict was the
Husbani River, which begins in southern Lebanon, a country
currently experiencing a water shortage, and runs into
Israel.
Similarly, he said, dwindling energy supplies could also trigger
conflicts.
"Indeed we have come to a situation where there is a real threat of
the shortage of energy resources, and we could see a fight for
energy resources," Mr Gorbachev said through an interpreter.
The three-day forum, which began today, explores issues such as
climate change, human development, economic growth and
poverty.
Mr Gorbachev, who won a Nobel prize in 1990 for his contribution to
ending the Cold War, said despite an increasing lack of resources
"we are still acting in a very wasteful way".
"This is of great concern. It is a problem that basically comes
down to the future of mankind," he said.
Mr Gorbachev said by 2020 the "water crisis" would spread across
half the world, leaving many countries without drinking water and
proper sanitation.
"This kind of situation could only result in a global cataclysm,"
he said.
Mr Gorbachev, the head of environmental group Green Cross
International, was also critical over the lack of time being spent
finding alternative energy resources, saying too much time had been
wasted in the development of solar energy.
"The position of Green Cross International calls for accelerated
use of renewable sources of energy, in particular solar energy," Mr
Gorbachev said.
"At the same time, we are calling for serious and effective steps
to more efficiently use the traditional sources of energy."
