ATHENS, GA — Two University of Georgia (UGA) researchers were awarded a grant by the National Science Foundation and the Department of Defense to study water conflicts between nations, the university announced in a November 20 press release.

The two-year project, conducted by UGA School of Public and International Affairs professors Jaroslav Tir and Douglas Stinnett, will determine how to prevent and manage water conflicts between nations who share sources of freshwater. The researchers will focus on the role of international institutions and the efficacy of treaties in governing the use of international rivers.

Due to population growth, pollution, development and climate change, there is considerable concern about the increasing demand on freshwater sources, and the conflicts that will emerge as a result, according to the university release. Already a topic of high-level national security debates around the world, the prospect of conflicts arising over shared water sources has been recognized in U.S. strategic planning documents.

“The practical importance of this project is hard to overstate,” Tir is quoted as saying. “Finding effective ways to manage the use of rivers through international institutions would not only address an emerging global security issue, it would be a natural response to the growing problem of water scarcity.”

This project investigates the extent to which international institutions might be able to promote cooperation and discourage conflicts between countries that share rivers.

Tir and Stinnett are scheduled to present their initial research findings next summer at a conference on climate change and security organized by the Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters.

To read the full release, click here.

For related information, click here.