Global water conflicts are not something out of science fiction, and they are not something to fear in the far distant future; they have been happening for a while and will continue to happen unless something radical changes in our water-usage.

During 2016, the following water conflicts took place across the globe according to the Pacific Institute, who initiated a project in the late 1980s to track and categorise events related to water and conflict:

• Honduras – Prize winning activist Berta Cáceres, working to stop development of the internationally funded Agua Zarca hydroelectric dam on the Gualcarque River was murdered along with two of her colleagues. Hundreds of other environmental activists in Latin America have been killed in recent years.
• Tunisia – Residents of Fernana in north-western Tunisia threaten to cut off the supply of water delivered by a pumping station to the capital, Tunis with at least on reported death.
• India – Scarce water supplies in drought-hit regions of India sparked violent uprisings in Bundelkhand and several other regions including Tikamgarh. Numerous injuries and deaths were reported.
• Venezuela – Severe drought effects on hydropower generation caused rioting and looting over energy and water cuts that left fifteen people injured.
• Yemen, Saudi Arabia – Attacks on water and power infrastructure throughout Yemen deprived nearly 20 million people of reliable access to clean water.
• India, China – Protests against the building of dams on the Brahmaputra River in India’s Himalayan state of Arunachal Pradesh turned violent, leading to two deaths and additional injuries. Both China and India have put forward plans for nearly 150 dams in the region, with major local opposition.
• India – Over 400 people were arrested and at least 2 died during riots over water in Bangalore, India when the Indian Supreme Court ordered Karnataka to release water from dams on the Cauvery River to neighbouring Tamil Nadu.
• South Africa – Environmental activist and opposition leader Sikhosiphi Radebe was murdered after opposing industrial mining development that threatened community water and land.
• South Africa – A severe drought in Northern KwaZulu-Natal sparked violent “water riots” in the town of Jozini over access to water and in opposition to the installation of water meters, leading to the arrest of 23 people.

Other water conflicts also occurred in India, Peru, Iraq, Syria, and the United States in 2016, which left a couple of hundred injured and many dead, including the Standing Rock Sioux protest. Most of these conflicts were development disputes, while others were military targets.

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