Episode description

Freshwater sources around the world are becoming more irregular, and disputes between countries are common, with fears that access to water could eventually lead to conflict.

There’s a high-profile case going on right now in northeast Africa, where talks about a huge new dam on the Blue Nile in Ethiopia have stalled. Ethiopia says it needs the hydroelectric dam to help solve some of its power supply problems. However, the Blue Nile is the largest source for the river Nile, which runs through Egypt, and there are concerns there that the dam will have huge consequences for people living further downstream.

According to the United Nations, around two-thirds of rivers shared by two countries or more lack formal agreements on how to manage the water.

So how can we help countries reach agreements over equal access to water, and ensure they stick to them in the future?

Graihagh Jackson and Neal Razzell are joined by:

Samuel Marunga, editor, BBC Monitoring Lenka Thamae, executive secretary of the Orange-Senqu River Commission Ashok Swain, professor of peace and conflict research at Uppsala University Susanne Schmeier, associate professor of water law and diplomacy at IHE Delft

Producer: Darin Graham Series producers: Richard Fenton-Smith and Rosamund Jones Editor: Emma Rippon Sound engineer: Tom Brignell