"The world needs a preventive not a reactive approach"

Mr Kofi Annan has argued for more than two decades that protecting and sharing natural resources, particularly water, is critical to peace and security. How significant is the risk of war between countries over water? 

"I do not really think there will be a war around water, however it could be a contributing factor - there have been tensions in Ethiopia and Central Asia between Tajikistan and Uzbekistan and at one stage they created the process for cooperation over water. We have recently released a progress study, Water Cooperation Quotient, which is the only document in the world that quantifies the intensity of cooperation over water, it will be launched in November this year. The study looks at all 286 rivers in the world, but it excludes underground water. The document proves that any two countries, which are actively engaged in water cooperation at...