Water has become a highly sought after resource in Africa. Africa is a continent with high concentration of many other resources such as gold, diamonds, and oil, finds itself struggling to provided water to much of it population. Africa is home to over seventy major lakes including the second largest fresh water lake in the world, Lake Victoria. However, most of these are located within the international boundaries of about fifteen countries of the sixty-one nations or territories located on the African continent.
In an article published by the British Broadcasting Corporation in 1999, it was stated, “The main conflicts in Africa during the next 25 years could be over that most precious of commodities - water, as countries fight for access to scarce resources” (para. 1). These wars would not be fought over gold, diamonds, nor oil, but over water. A natural resources that covers over two thirds of the Earth’s surface has the potential to start wars and conflicts, in which millions could lose their lives.
Dr. Peter Ashton states, in an article on the Science in Africa website, most of the conflicts that will be fought would not be in Southern Africa and not among nations, but in Northern Africa, because of the scarcity of water resources are much higher, and on small local scales because these groups lack “range of options that are available to prevent disputes over water” (Ashton para. 2).
When you combine the lack of water supplies with little to no rainfall, you get a time bomb waiting to explode. Millions have died of hunger and famine because of the shortage of water supplies. Farming in those regions is insufficient at best if not impossible. Those places where water supplies are found are becoming over populated. For example, around Lake Victoria is one of the most densely populated places in the world and because of this the ecosystem in and around it has greatly been effected. Species of fish known only to this region,...