This year, 2019, marked a new nadir for the environment that may reflect an ominous trend in warfare: Environmentally sensitive targets are being weaponized and taken hostage. Farmland went up in flames and burning oil tankers dominated the headlines, serving as a stark reminder of conflict’s ripple effects.

“Action is needed today,” said EcoPeace Middle East’s Palestinian Co-Director Nada Majdalani. EcoPeace’s Palestinian and Israeli Co-Directors spoke at a recent session of the United Nations Security Council that focused on potential solutions to the decades-old Palestinian-Israeli crisis. They emphasized the importance of cooperation over shared water resources to help address human health and national, regional, and global security concerns. While EcoPeace has been working to foster cooperation over water for more than 25 years, as a way to build peace in the Middle East, this was the first time the trilateral organization briefed the Security Council.

Zaatari camp, the largest Syrian refugee camp in the world, sits less than 12 kilometers away from the border between Syria and northern Jordan. Rows of houses disappear into the desert, making it hard to tell where the camp begins and ends. Metal containers pieced together like patchwork are home to around 80,000 refugees. The remnants of tattered UNHCR tents cover holes in the walls. Almost seven years after the camp opened, this dusty sea of tin roofs has evolved into a permanent settlement.

Last year, four rivers were granted legal rights: the Whanganui in New Zealand, Rio Atrato in Colombia, and the Ganga and Yamuna rivers in India. These four cases present powerful examples of the increasing relevance of rights-centered environmental protection. Like corporations, which have legal rights in many jurisdictions, these rivers are rights-bearing entities whose rights can be enforced by local communities and individuals in court. But unlike corporations, these rights are not yet recognized in international treaties. Which raises the question: what are the implications of rights for nature for international environmental law?

Climate change can undermine stability in the Middle East and North Africa, where both the United States and Europe have critical foreign policy and security interests. The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region “is impacted by climate and resource scarcity risks now, in the medium, and in the long term,” said Nick Mabey, director and chief executive of the environmental think tank E3G, during a recent Wilson Center event on building climate resilience in MENA countries. “It’s a region that is highly vulnerable to climate change,” said Mabey, and “also incredibly vulnerable to global systems.” 

In Jordan—one of the driest, most water poor countries in the world—population growth is straining the country’s aging infrastructure and limited water resources. As the Jordan country director for the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), I’ve met urban residents and business owners who have only received water from the city utility once every two weeks, relying on storage tanks to fill the gaps. I’ve spoken with water utility managers who could no longer keep up with urgent repairs, leading to bursting water pipes and sewage overflowing into streets. And farmers in the Jordan Valley have told me that each year their wells have grown drier, and they feared the next generation would be forced to give up farming olives, tomatoes, grapes, and strawberries.

Scientists agree that many countries in tropical, subtropical, and arid regions should expect changes to water availability and supply from climate change. The U.S. intelligence community has likewise warned of water-driven challenges not only for countries directly affected by water changes, but indirectly to various U.S. national security interests. Perhaps not surprisingly then, the popular literature has been quite clear about prophesizing wars over water.