The case of the Ilisu dam project in Turkey Carsten Rohr Introduction Water disputes in the next millennium.
Water is considered a major cause of international conflict in the next millennium.
Wars of the next century will be over water. This warning comes from the World Bank, the largest international investor in water projects. Klaus T pfer, head of the United Nations Environmental Program, warns about extreme conflicts caused by already severe water scarcities. The CIA knows that water interests and water problems are nowhere greater than in the Middle East. The dams give Turkey control over the water supplies of Syria and Iraq, as spare capacity of the reservoirs the difference between maximum and normal operational capacity will be sufficient to block any water flowing to Syria and Iraq for several months.