http://www.internationalwaterlaw.org/blog/2009/04/15/changing-climate-changing-borders/ Sun, 19 May 2013 08:51:38 +0000 hourly 1 http://www.internationalwaterlaw.org/blog/2009/04/15/changing-climate-changing-borders/comment-page-1/#comment-12 Gabriel Eckstein (IWLP blogger) Tue, 21 Apr 2009 19:10:33 +0000 http://internationalwaterlaw.org/blog/?p=39#comment-12 Thanks for your comment Alex. Sea level rise certainly could affect international borders. And that, in turn, could result in political stress as nations compete over the geographic demarcation of off-shore natural resources. The same could occur for shifting rivers and lakes where borders are tied to the location of those surface waters. Are we, as an international community, beyond fighting over transboundary water resources? Aaron Wolf and others certainly think so. Their studies indicate, generally, that water tends to be more of a cooperative rather than a divisive force. Yet, statistical research and historical analysis do not always provide adequate predictors of human nature. Conventional wisdom suggest that all peoples and nations have a tipping point, and that faced with significant water depletion and scarcity, people and nations may, nonetheless, resort to conflict. I can only hope that Wolf, et al., are correct.

]]> http://www.internationalwaterlaw.org/blog/2009/04/15/changing-climate-changing-borders/comment-page-1/#comment-4 Alex Basilevsky Wed, 15 Apr 2009 13:47:57 +0000 http://internationalwaterlaw.org/blog/?p=39#comment-4 Interesting posting. To take the topic an additional step however, what about climate change’s anticipated effects on ocean levels. We normally consider rising ocean levels in a vertical context, but as oceans levels rise they will also cause a horizontal shift in coastlines. While the change may be negligable in many parts of the world, in others it could result in significant impact to the reach of a nation’s territorial waters.

]]>