Water Wars in Asia?

Event: Wednesday, June 5, 2013

6:00pm – 7:30pm

Asia Society

Bechtel Conference Room

500 Washington St. San Francisco

Click here to register at the $10 discounted rate for friends of The Asia Foundation

The battles of yesterday were fought over land. Those of today are over energy. And the battles of tomorrow may be over water. Nowhere is the danger greater than in Asia. Drought, urbanization, pollution, and inadequate infrastructure have made Asia the world’s most water-scarce continent on a per-capita basis. Many of its water sources cross national boundaries, creating the potential for international conflict as supplies dwindle. Now global warming is raising the stakes further, causing rising sea levels, more severe floods and droughts, and the melting of the glaciers in the Tibetan plateau.

The water security challenges facing China and India in particular have consequences not just for the two rising powers, but for Asia as a whole. They threaten to reduce economic growth across the region, exacerbate ongoing territorial disputes, and impose further hardships on Asia’s poor. Asia Society Northern California is pleased to host national security expert Brahma Chellaney, water expert Peter Gleick, and futurist Peter Schwartz to discuss what is becoming Asia’s defining crisis of the 21st century.

Copies of Water: Asia’s New Battleground and Water, Peace, and War: Confronting the Global Water Crisis will be available for purchase and signing at a post-event reception.

Co-sponsored with The Asia Society (host), East Meets West, Institute of East Asian Studies, UC Berkeley, Japan Policy Research Institute, Pacific Institute, Sierra Club, US China Green Energy Council, World Affairs Council.

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