While the world focuses its attention on disputes over oil, gas, or strategic minerals, a much more basic resource is silently becoming the focus of global tensions: freshwater. This water crisis, less visible but potentially more devastating, threatens to redefine international relations in the coming decades.

Drinking water could soon be worth more than black gold. Currently, 2 billion people do not have safe access to drinking water and 3.6 billion lack adequate sanitation. These figures are worsening due to the combination of climate change, population growth, and overexploitation, creating conflicts between countries that share water resources.

The lack of water is not limited to its physical scarcity. When an aquifer is depleted, the entire social structure collapses as agriculture is paralyzed, industries close, and communities are displaced. This phenomenon is already causing "climate migrations" that could affect 140 million people by 2050, according to expert estimates.

60% of the 310 international river basins lack agreements to resolve conflicts. Of the 468 aquifers that cross borders, barely six have formal cooperation agreements. This absence of regulatory frameworks creates fertile ground for disputes that can quickly intensify. In the Nile, the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam has generated tensions with Egypt, a country historically dependent on the river. Ethiopia defends its energy development while Egypt fears for its food security. What began as an infrastructure project has become a regional diplomatic challenge where each drop represents sovereignty, development, and survival.

For decades, policies have treated water as an infinite and free resource, leading to unsustainable management. A recent study values aquatic ecosystems at $58 trillion annually, equivalent to 60% of global GDP. Despite this, we have lost a third of wetlands since 1970, and freshwater species have decreased by 83%.

Promising solutions are emerging in the face of this scenario. "Water diplomacy" seeks to convert shared need into a basis for cooperation. The Monterrey Water Fund in Mexico shows how urban users, businesses, and rural communities can collaborate in the sustainable management of watersheds with benefits for all. New technologies offer valuable alternatives. Advanced satellite systems detect changes in aquifers before critical situations arise. Desalination is evolving towards more efficient models with renewable energy. Wastewater recycling creates sustainable cycles that relieve pressure on natural sources.

Preventing future water conflicts requires profound institutional changes. The recognition of water as a human right by the UN in 2010 was important, but it must be reflected in effective laws with a transboundary perspective. New agreements must consider climate change, fair distribution, and clear mechanisms to resolve disputes.

Freshwater management will determine whether we move towards greater cooperation or towards intense conflicts. The decision, although difficult, is clear: to convert this common need into a basis for international collaboration. Only in this way can the most important resource for life also promote peace in the 21st century.