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World must learn to share water to avoid war, says FAO

Countries must learn to share water fairly if they are to avoid warring over the vital resource as population growth and climate change make it ever more scarce, Reuters reported the head of the UN farming agency as saying on Thursday.
Farming consumes 70% of fresh water taken from the world’s lakes, rivers and aquifers, and demand from farms is set to increase by 14% in the next 30 years, said Jacques Diouf, head of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).
"Water conflicts can arise in water stressed areas among local communities and between countries," he told a conference marking World Water Day.
"The lack of adequate institutional and legal instruments for water sharing exacerbates already difficult conditions. In the absence of clear and well-established rules, chaos tends to dominate and power plays an excessive role," he said.