From Zambia to Indonesia, recent headlines about catastrophic toxic mining spills grimly underscore how the global push to secure one set of resources, critical minerals, might be compromising another: water.

“This isn’t just an environmental story,” said Lauren Risi, Director of the Stimson Center’s Environmental Security Program, at a recent event on protecting water resources amid increasing mining, held ahead of World Water Day 2026. “For many of these communities, the water being put at risk is their source of drinking water. It’s critical to subsistence farming and livelihoods. It sits at the center of daily life. When mining degrades or disrupts access to it, the consequences are immediate and personal,” she said.

While the devastating cyclones Dineo (2017) and Idai (2019) may feel like distant memories on the global stage, their impact remains etched into daily life in Zimbabwe’s Tsholotsho and Chimanimani districts. A punishing regional drought in 2024 makes the picture here even clearer: food, land, and water systems have been reshaped in ways that directly influence social cohesion and stability.