small paragraph

Water
covers 75% of the earth’s surface. Most of it contains high
concentrations of salt and is unusable to developing countries for
consumption or irrigation purposes because desalination is too
expensive. Consequently, when a water source like a major river
originates in one country and flows into another, the shared water
source could become an issue of national security. (For example, if one
country dams or diverts a shared river for irrigation purposes, it could
reduce the amount of water flowing downstream to the second country).

For
this week’s discussion, think of the enduring disputes taking place
between Jordan and Israel (Jordan controls the headwaters of the Jordan
River as it flows into Israel); Turkey and Iraq (Turkey controls the
Tigris and Euphrates Rivers before they enter Iraq); and between
Ethiopia and Sudan and Egypt (Ethiopia controls the flow of the Nile
River before it enters Sudan and Egypt). What concerns do these
downriver countries (Israel, Iraq, and Egypt/Sudan) have over freshwater
access?