The Stream, February 21: Drought Declared in South-East England

Droughts
South-East England is officially in a state of drought, the Press Association reported, citing the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. The Guardian has mapped out the affected regions.

As rivers and reservoirs in England and Wales are running low after two dry winters, water industry executives have again called for regulatory reforms and investments that will make it easier to transfer water between regions, according to the Financial Times.

Instability in Syria has aggravated an already dire situation for tens of thousands of farmers and herders affected by drought and lack of financial assistance, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization has warned, according to Middle East Online.

Lower water levels and overfishing are causing an unprecedented decline in fish stocks in the Paraná River in South America, Inter Press Service reported.

Water-Energy
Canada has threatened a trade war with the European Union over the EU’s plan to label crude from Alberta’s tar sands as highly polluting, the Guardian reported, citing new documents obtained by Friends of the Earth Europe under freedom of information laws.

Food, water and energy confrontations will pressure the economies in the Mekong River Basin in the next decade, The Nation reported, citing experts at a recent conference in Thailand.

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