THE GEOPOLITICAL AND GEOSTRATEGIC IMPORTANCE OF WATER RESOURCES TOWARDS THE TWENTY-SECOND CENTURY: A LOOK AT TODAY'S WORLD CONFRONTING WATER PROBLEMS

Around the world, water stress, water scarcity and desertification problems due to water scarcity are increasing day by day. At the international level, international organizations draw attention to these problems, actions are recommended, and efforts are made to resolve them. The objective of this study is to assess the adequacy of measures and efforts at the international level to solve the problems of water, source of life for humanity and nature, which have a geopolitical and geostrategic importance. To this end, the importance of water was underlined, and the chronology of studies initiated at international level on water stress problems were given. Despite important initiatives undertaken internationally, in the study, water stress, which is intensely felt in some parts of the world, was visualized using maps. From the results obtained in the study, it seems that the studies carried out in the fight against the lack of water are limited to superficial measures and main recommendations rather than an effective solution. Keywords: Water stress, water scarcity, lack of water, international system, water economy, water management, water political economy