Ethiopia, Egypt, and Sudan signed a technical agreement Tuesday about the Grand Renaissance Dam, which is being constructed at the source of the Blue Nile in Ethiopia. The Ministers of Irrigation and Foreign Affairs of the three countries signed the accord after two days of deliberations in the Sudanese capital.

Scientists are crafting radical new approaches that may one day rejuvenate the world’s water-starved regions.  The clusters of farms and wineries in the Arava are a testament to Israel’s acumen in water technology.

China has started a major water supply project in Sri Lanka, using its “soft power” to deepen its relationship with Colombo.  Once completed, the new project will yield clean drinking water that would benefit 600,000 people, spread in 42 villages, in an area not far from Colombo.

President Xi Jinping wason  Tuesday due in Sri Lanka where he will launch construction of a Chinese-backed $1.4 billion port city as he promotes his vision of a "maritime silk road" in the face of growing competition from Japan and India.

Narendra Modi is the first Indian prime minister visiting Nepal in 17 years, although the two countries share an open border and claim to have a close relationship.  One of the most contentious issues between the two has been sharing and developing trans-boundary water resources.

The Middle East’s seemingly endless conflicts are diverting attention and resources from a graver long-term threat that threatens the whole region, the growing scarcity of water, and the situation will get worse before it gets better — if it ever does get better. Years of war, careless water supply management, unchecked population growth, ill-advised agricultural policies, and subsidies that encourage consumption have turned a basically arid part of the world into a voracious consumer of water. The trajectory is not sustainable.