I agree, this issue becomes infinitely more complex as cloud seeding programs by China, Saudi and UAE ramp up in the next few decades.

I once had ice cream with Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala before she was head of WTO and brought up that water should have a voice too at the WTO. Since taking the helm she has been amazingly advocating for water by bringing water advocacy organizations to the table though her platform of influence. From the actions she’s been taking last few years, she deeply understands the economics of water as a common good.

https://www.vanguardngr.com/2023/03/trade-solution-to-manage-water-economics-okonjo-iweala/amp/

Typical of Nature’s editors to be more concerned with leveraging scientific research to gain political influence than with increasing the sum of human knowledge.

Before governments get together to manage the globe’s “precipitationsheds” and “evaporationsheds,” perhaps they should get better at setting water policies within their own borders. While they allow some private, tradeable water rights; they also control prices and allocate water politically. As a result, we get water surpluses in some places, and shortages and rationing in others.

If you want something to be available in a reliable fashion it needs to be privatized not treated as a "public good." When resources are privately owned there are incentives to protect them. When no one owns a thing it is subject to the tragedy of the commons.

Also, most of the water cycle problems have nothing to do with "climate change" or warming. The major problem in a lot of areas is the lack of large herd animals which mow out dead growth, & then poop & pee & fertilize new growth which dramatically increases the amount of water the ground can hold. Climate tards are always wrong on every count. We need more animals, more CO2, & more plants, then everything thrives, & local water cycles become more stable everywhere.