The past few months have offered a stark reminder of the importance -- and precariousness -- of water supplies. The Gulf Cooperation Council countries, which together supply roughly 62 million people with drinking water drawn almost entirely from the sea, have seen their desalination plants targeted by drones and missiles in a geopolitical conflict they did not create.
Meanwhile, insufficient rainfall in Central America has been lowering water levels in the Panama Canal for years, creating tension between local demand for fresh water and transit through a vital shipping artery. This is the same crisis seen from opposite ends: in Panama, a shortage of fresh water constrains maritime trade; in the Gulf, maritime conflict imperils drinking water. Water is, in the strictest sense, a security issue, but the world has yet to govern it as one.
