The world faces a growing risk of interstate conflicts as water becomes scarcer due to climate change, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier warned on Friday during a visit to Kyrgyzstan.
The threat necessitated two courses of action, Steinmeier stressed during a visit to the Central Asian republic's Ala-Archa national park.
"On the one hand, a political investment that helps to facilitate the resolution of interstate conflicts," he said. "And on the other, a decisive fight against climate change in Germany, in Europe and worldwide to stop the changes."
Steinmeier, who served as Germany's foreign minister from 2013-17, made the remarks at the close of a four-day trip to Central Asia, having first visited Kazakhstan.
In mountainous Kyrgyzstan, he flew over the Golubin glacier in a helicopter to better understand the effects of climate change. Some 17% of the Ala-Archa park is comprised of glaciers, which like many other glaciers around the world are now melting.
"The glacier melt, which is proceeding at a rapid pace here, exacerbates an issue that has always existed, the distribution of water between the Central Asian states," Steinmeier said.
Up to now, Kyrgyzstan's many glaciers allowed it to supply water to some of its neighbours. At the same time, water distribution has long been the cause of cross-border conflicts in the region.
