The Pentagon, among others, has made the point that riparian disputes are going to be at the top of the agenda in global politics in the coming years. Water is essential to survival and central to border disputes between China and India, Pakistan and India, and even in Latin America, where water is abundant.

In this case, Uruguay’s construction of two paper mills on the River Uruguay has set off a dispute with Argentina, which claims the construction is in violation of a long-standing treaty and is polluting the river as well as the Argentina tourist town on the other side of the border. The two countries have taken the dispute to the  Hague, which is now hearing the case.

What’s my interest in this?

Uruguay remains comparatively unpolluted next to its neighbors, but the paper mills, which will boost Uruguay’s exports by 15% are symptomatic of increased development that could very well change that picture shortly. Uruguay’s attraction as a farming country is the relatively cheap cost of good quality soil, abundant water, and a history of organic use . But with multinationals and governments gobbling up land all over the world, you wonder how long that will continue.

The area around the middle of the border with Argentina, especially at the lower end, near Colonia (the Soriano area), has the highest quality soil and is intensively cultivated. Argentines often buy there because of the proximity to Buenos Aires, via the ferry at Colonia. The farming tends to horticulture, with potato farming and dairy well represented. I haven’t looked in that region because of the high prices – a hectare can run to over $8000, and I’ve seen prices as high as $20,000 and more, depending on the improvements and the location of the land.

In the middle of the border area, in the department of Paysandu, land usage runs to cattle farms and wheat.

Further north, in Salto, a pretty university town, citrus farming takes precedence, as the soil isn’t as high in fertility.

All these areas are well watered by rivers, like the Uruguay and the Rio Negro, which cut through the relatively flat, unspectacular land. But these are also the areas where land prices have shot up the most recently because of the influx of Argentines, looking for a safer place for their money and freedom from increasingly onerous agricultural laws….