The Stream, April 17: Vietnam Farms and Dams Compete for Water Amid Drought

Water-Food-Energy
A drought in Vietnam has uncovered tensions between water users in the country’s energy and agricultural sectors, Radio Free Asia reported. Despite a directive from the prime minister, the operator of a hydropower dam has refused to send more water downstream to drought-hit farms.

While South Africa’s mining sector receives much of the blame for the country’s water troubles, water mismanagement in the agricultural industry is also putting stress on water resources, according to Business Day Live. About 63 percent of the freshwater in South Africa is allocated to irrigation.

Drinking Water
Low-cost tools to monitor drinking water quality will be the focus of a new European Union initiative that hopes to reduce waterborne illnesses by detecting them before problems arise, Bloomberg News reported. Two million people die each year from unsafe drinking water, the report said, citing the World Health Organization.

This slideshow posted by the Guardian documents the encroaching waters of the Pacific on the low-lying island of Kiribati, where sea level rise is polluting freshwater supplies and the population is growing.

Mining
The environmental permit for Barrick Gold’s Pascua-Lama mine in Chile could be revoked after the project was suspended by a Chilean court last week, Reuters reported. The $US 8.5 billion mine project sits on the border between Chile and Argentina, and has faced opposition from local communities based on alleged water pollution.

The Stream is a daily digest spotting global water trends. To get more water news, follow Circle of Blue on Twitter and sign up for our newsletter.

Codi Kozacek

A news correspondent for Circle of Blue based out of Hawaii. She writes The Stream, Circle of Blue’s daily digest of international water news trends. Her interests include food security, ecology and the Great Lakes.
Contact Codi Kozacek