In the last few months I visited a number of places along the Great Rift Valley- the geographical system of faults and valleys that stretches from Lebanon in the North to Mozambique in the South across almost 5000km crossing over 20 national borders. 

The notion of India often evokes images of an ancient civilization, defined by sprawling palaces and gardens, spirituality and a system of beliefs and culture that dates back several millennia. Over time, the growth of Indian civilization has been symbiotic with nature, with the intimate relationship shared with the land, an integral aspect of Hindu mythology and Indian beliefs. With this in mind, rivers and water bodies across the country have historically been revered for their life-sustaining abilities, perhaps more so in India given that it is, and always has been, primarily an agrarian society. 

Every morning the paper I receive in my home in Mumbai carries a story on the worsening water situation in the city and how thousands of us are left without water. The stories talk about water theft by the private companies, illegal tapping of wells, poor transportation systems, pollution in the reservoirs and related problems. The media blames the government, the government blames the climate, the bureaucracy blames the rising population and the migrants, and we the people blame everyone. 

Bangladesh shares around 4,095km of its border with India. Over the years cross border migration from Bangladesh to India has taken place owing to a combination of economic and political factors. Currently, an estimated 20 million Bangladeshis illegally stay in India. In recent years, an increased and sustained movement of people from Bangladesh to India has taken place as a result of factors other than economic, social or political. The main driver of cross border migration has been the environment, which includes the absence of adequate freshwater resources. 

Pakistan has always been in the news for all the wrong reasons. For a country which is currently facing the brunt of several internal and external problems, Pakistan indeed has always been the most tumultuous part of the South Asian region. But these problems, which are very public in nature, have actually managed to cover perhaps the biggest threat the country is facing. Pakistan is sitting on a major water bomb and despite the warnings the country’s administration has easily neglected this problem, a problem which actually threatens the very existence of the country.

From the outside, looking in, Nepal has seemingly abundant water resources. Authors and poets have written eloquently about the bounty of the countryâ��s â��true natural resourceâ��: its water. The small mountainous country has well over 6000 rivers. All of the major rivers originate in the Himalayas and are snow-fed. The countryâ��s overall water availability is pegged at well over 230 BCM. From the outside, the really definitive statistic is that of the per capita water availability, which in 2003 was estimated to be 9122 m3 per capita and in 2025 is projected to be 5500 m3 per capita. When compared with other countries in the region, India, China and Pakistan, Nepalâ��s water statistics lead people to believe that the countryâ��s water security is healthy and will remain so for the next several years. 

In the past few months, the Commonwealth Games to be held in New Delhi have been in the news for all the wrong reasons. There have been reports that the construction will not be completed on time. This, coupled with the scuffle between the office bearers of the Commonwealth Games and the Indian delegation and then their media-friendly patch up, has given a lot of publicity to the event. 

In an important speech in early December, US President Barack Obama laid out plans for the pullout of US troops from Afghanistan in 2011. This would mean an end to 10-year long operations in Afghanistan against Al Qaeda. Obama also mentioned in this speech that Somalia would be the next battleground against Al Qaeda. Does this mean that the allies intend to focus next on Somalia in the ‘war on terror’? If it does, then the question to be asked is, is Somalia capable of withstanding a US-led invasion against Al Qaeda-related terrorists?