Segueing from scarcity to excess, new pilot programs in Morocco and California are taking different routes to preserve water resources, as their populations continue to grow, and water supply continues to shrink. In trying to cut down on water consumption, many governments and organizations have relied on penalizing residents for using too much water, efforts that have largely fallen short. But a group of university and private partners are turning this approach around, rewarding residents for conserving water instead. In two pilot projects, which are taking place in Marrakesh and Sonoma, water users are getting paid for how much water they save, earning water conservation credits (WSC). One WSC represents 1,000 liters saved in Marrakesh, and 100 gallons saved in Sonoma. The results of this program could be a game-changer on how the international community approaches water conservation.

As the deadline for the more than 10 million Syrian refugees and displaced persons to register their land with the government came and went yesterday, questions remain over what it will mean for those that couldn't make their claim, and what the impact will be on the demographics of the country. In early April, the Syrian government introduced into law Article 10, which required Syrians to claim their land by May 10th, or risk it being confiscated. The law forfeits land to the government upon the owner's inability to claim it in person, an impossible situation for the millions of Syrian refugees or displaced persons that can't- or won't- return home. The law, and the impossibility of such a task under the tight time frame, has been decried by critics of Bashar al-Assad's regime, accusing it of ensuring the permanent exile of political opponents, as they will have no home to return to, and drawing parallels to similar laws enacted in Lebanon after the civil war and Israel in in 1950. The law also gives Assad more room to essentially gerrymander the country to his liking, rewarding the seized land to political allies and keeping a tight lid on dissent. This cruel law joins a long line of instances in which land rights have been used as a tactic of war.

 

Read more here and here .