In 2004, a 23-year-old man was killed after a dispute with his neighbors over irrigation of a potato field adjacent to his village of Babia, Nepal. Water shortages have led to conflicts at the regional and local levels.

　 In 2004, a 23-year-old man was killed after a dispute with his neighbors over irrigating a potato field adjacent to his village of Babia, Nepal. There were fears that conflicts over water could become a cause of future wars.  Water scarcity has caused conflicts at the regional and local levels. Water was an essential element of human life, and human activities were closely linked to water availability and quality.

　Most water-related conflicts occur over fresh water. Water resources are necessary for basic human needs but are scarce, polluted, and inadequately distributed among users. Water scarcity exacerbates water conflicts because of competition for drinking water, irrigation, power generation, and other needs. Fresh water is an important but unevenly distributed natural resource, and its availability affects livelihoods and economic conditions. The lack of cost-effective water supplies in the Middle East region, among other elements of the water crisis, puts severe pressure on water users and can lead to tension and aggression. Unresolved water conflicts are increasing, mostly at the national level, and as water becomes more scarce, climate change alters local water resources, and the global population increases, conflicts become more dangerous.

　Water conflicts have broken out in 1634 conflicts worldwide in history, of which only 2004 was excerpted.1) In 2004, China, police killed dam protesters. Tens of thousands of farmers stage a sit-in against the Pugou Dam being built on the Dadu River in China's Sichuan Province. Riot police were dispatched to quell the riot, killing one person. According to witnesses, a number of residents were killed.2) In 2004, a prison riot erupted in Côte d'Ivoire over water shortages. Riots broke out at the main prison in Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire, over water shortages.3)In 2004, students rioted over power outages and water shortages in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Students rioted due to power outages and water shortages in the Democratic Republic of Congo. 4)In 2004, police killed a water protester in India. 4) In October, four people were killed and more than 30 injured in November as farmers continued to protest over the allocation of water for the Indira Gandhi Irrigation Canal in Sri Ganganagar district bordering Pakistan. Authorities imposed a curfew in the towns of Garsana, Raora, and Anupgarh.5) In 2004, terrorists blew up water pipes in India. An IED planted in an underground water pipe killed 12 Indian security forces during a "counterinsurgency operation" in the Canabar district of Anantnag district. 6)In 2004, four water and sewerage department employees were kidnapped in Kirkuk, Iraq. Three technicians and a contractor employed by the city's Water and Sewerage Department were kidnapped in Kirkuk, Iraq. The detailed results of the kidnapping were not reported.7) In 2004, missionaries working on a water project in Mosul, Iraq, were attacked. Four Christian missionaries from the U.S. working on a water project in Mosul, Iraq, were attacked, killing four and seriously injuring one other.8) In 2004, militias attacked a village in a land and water dispute. Boran militiamen attacked the village of Gabra near the Ethiopian border. The attack is linked to a long-running conflict over land and water.9) In 2004, a guard at a public water supply is shot while working Bullets were fired at a guard at a public water pumping station in Kosovska Mitrovica, Kosovo. Authorities blamed the attack on Albanian militants.10) In 2004, Mexican farmer shot in duel over spring. Two Mexican farmers had been fighting for years over water rights to a small spring used to irrigate a small corn field near the town of Piwamo. Then, in March, these two farmers shot and killed each other.11) In 2004, students protested against water shortages in sub-Saharan Africa.13) In 2004, Chinese engineers working on a dam were kidnapped, killing one of them. Two Chinese engineers working on the construction of a dam and canal in Waziristan, Pakistan, were kidnapped by Pakistani militants demanding the release of six fellow Pakistanis. During the rescue operation, one of the two was shot dead and the other was rescued without incident.14) In 2004, Pakistan, terrorists target water. Military operations targeting Islamic terrorists, including al-Qaeda and the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, damaged or destroyed homes, schools, and wells in Pakistan.15) In 2004, the U.S. suspended water projects in Gaza. The U.S. cancels two water development projects as punishment for the Palestinian Authority's failure to arrest those responsible for the October 2003 attack on the U.S. diplomatic mission.16)In 2004, demonstrators block roads in South Africa over the installation of prepaid water meters. Members of the Soweto Electricity Crisis Committee blocked city streets to protest the installation of prepaid water meters in homes. Police used stun guns to subdue them.17) In 2004, rebels in Sudan destroyed the offices of a local water company. Rebels destroyed several houses and the offices of the local police and water company in Sudan.18)Militants destroyed a well in Sudan in 2004. Janjaweed militias destroy wells and burn food and seeds in the Jebel Mara region of Sudan. They also allegedly threw dead bodies into some wells.19) In 2004, Mursade and Dudubul sub-clans clashed over water wells in Somalia. Twenty-three people were killed when the Mursade and Dudubul clans clashed over a well. Separately, the Diere and Marehan clans fought over control of water and grazing lands in Heraale, resulting in deaths in October.20) In 2004, the government cut off electricity and water supplies in northern Cote d'Ivoire, and on November 4, the military launched "Operation Dignity," a surprise attack on Bouake, the largest city in the north and a stronghold of opposition forces. Bouake, the opposition's stronghold and the largest city in the north, shattering a year-and-a-half ceasefire. The government cut off electricity and water supplies to the north the day before the attack. It remained shut down for about a week.21) In 2004, prisoners died in riots over water shortages in Côte d'Ivoire at La Maison d'arrêt et de correction d'Abidjan (MACA), the main prison in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, in early November, two incidents of prisoners being murdered. The first incident was triggered by a prolonged water shortage, and the prisoners reportedly did not drink water for five days, except for a small ration of drinking water. At least seven prisoners were killed and 30 injured in the riots. A UN human rights official said he could not give a final death toll because the riot was still under investigation.