In an ongoing effort to understand the connections between water resources, water systems, and international security and conflict, the Pacific Institute initiated a project in the late 1980s to track and categorize events related to water and conflict, which has been continuously updated since. Their  new format, updated November 2009, presents the information three ways, to better illustrate how conflicts over water impact history: 

More than 100 environmental, social and indigenous organisations protested Monday in the Chilean  capital to demand that the state regain control over the management of water, which was privatised by the dictatorship in 1981.

More than 6,000 people took part in the peaceful, colourful “great carnival march for the recovery and defence of water” in Santiago, according to the organisers, one of whom was former student leader Camila Vallejo, who plans to run for parliament for the Communist Party.

The worst drought in 50 years is affecting several states in northeast Brazil.

Some of these areas  have not seen rain in over a year, while for others, it has been just a few drops since November.

The ongoing drought has been affecting much of northeastern Brazil for several years. It is estimated that upwards of 10 million people have been affected, making it the worst drought since 1963.

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"Las evaluaciones realizadas por la Fundación Nueva Cultura del Agua, han determinado que más del 50% de las aguas españolas están en mal estado, bien por deterioro de su estado ecológico —extracciones excesivas, alteraciones de los cauces, represamiento de aguas, entre otras— o por contaminación química, un problema que se extiende por el mundo y de la que aún se están investigando sus efectos sobre la salud y el medio ambiente..."

Con motivo de la celebración del Día Mundial del Agua y el Año Internacional de Cooperación del Agua, el Ministerio de Medio Ambiente y la Agencia Nacional del Agua (ANA) lanzó el Programa de Consolidación del Pacto Nacional para la Gestión del Agua (Progestão).

One important area of cooperation involves  transboundary rivers, which can be a source of conflict, or economic benefit the countries. Over the last 50 years, over 200 treaties have been signed regulating the use of rivers such as the Indus, Jordan and Danube. But in Central Asia, the five republics have been talking for 20 years without agreeing how to share the waters of the great Aral Sea Basin, source of water for agriculture and hydropower. Now they may be getting somewhere.

The European Commission has unveiled a blueprint for global development aid and called on world leaders to replace the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) with an international  aid framework based on sustainable and inclusive development tackling poverty at its roots.

Please find attached the report outline.

The Guardian's "Global Development Professionals Network" provides a summary of the report's main findings

Safe Water Haiti provides simple, strategic and sustainable clean water solutions to the developing world.Their program integrates health and sanitation education programs with the Solar Disinfection (SODIS) technique which effectively changes contaminated water to safe-drinking water.