Page 21 - report_A Matter of Survival

A Matter of Survival

the center of it – water – we can make progress in all other areas as well as forward looking, targeted at clearly defined and
of the nexus. Conversely, ignoring the role water plays will make achievable objectives.
it impossible to achieve the other SDGs. ▪ The second task is technological. Water strategies must
be supported by strong interdisciplinary research and the
Achieving water security thus requires interdisciplinary development of transformative technologies. Their purpose
collaboration across sectors, communities and political borders. should be to substantially increase the levels of knowledge
International cooperation is vitally important in this context. about water, to promote water conservation and availability,
and to enable wise and rational management that will do no
Faced with new, human-induced patterns of climate change, harm but will offer fair and reasonable distribution of water.
we have to be aware not only of the consequences of climate Although important progress has taken place in water science
change, such as massive displacement and the potential for and technology over the past decades, including in remote
conflicts within and among regions and nations, but also of the sensing and in the improved modeling and control capabilities
fact that water cooperation can be – and should be – a critical of the processes, further concentrated research and capacity
mechanism for the adaptation to climate change. Dialogue, development are needed. Advanced technologies for
planning and common responses between States represent water recycling and desalination, technologies for water
the potential for the articulation of effective strategies in the purification as well as the development of drought-resistant
management of transboundary waters, both surface waters crops must be high on the international agenda.
and – even more critical for the future – shared aquifers. These ▪ The third task relates to the development of all forms
preventive measures are very cost effective, but they need to be and techniques of water diplomacy. Obviously, these
implemented as soon as possible. will have to include existing and well-tested techniques of
intergovernmental water cooperation, including in particular
Strategies of Peace the transboundary water management systems. They will
also include existing and new diplomatic and humanitarian
The world has to face the drama of water in its many manifestations techniques to address water problems during armed
through a set of carefully devised and sophisticated strategies. conflicts – both international and non-international. But
These should involve individual States and governments, regional most importantly, hydro-diplomacy must be strengthened in
organizations, including transboundary water management the framework of conflict prevention strategies. Preventive
systems and global organizations, including the United Nations diplomacy must be well informed about the technical aspects
system and global financial institutions, especially the World of water problems and, above all, needs to be strongly
Bank. Water issues are not new challenges or tasks for any of supported by political leaders.
these actors. UNESCO and WMO, for example, have been in the ▪ The fourth task requires revisiting and updating what
vanguard of international action on water issues for decades. was learned over the past decades. The world needs an
UNEP and UNDP have developed significant water programs assessment of how valuable the lessons of the past have
within their respective terms of reference, while UNECE been and still are in an era of globalization and global change
and ESCWA have important water programs. Coordination with all its impacts on water resources, in particular on
mechanisms like UN-Water within the UN system and global transboundary watercourses, lakes and aquifers. It is forty
stakeholders such as the World Water Forum also have important years since the only UN Conference on Water was held in Mar
experience. Activities related to climate change have produced del Plata, Argentina. That seminal conference brought to the
important lessons and recommendations. fore the notion of Integrated Water Resources Management
(IWRM) which fundamentally changed the water resources
So, what is the way forward? The Budapest Water Summit 2016 development and management scene. Significant global
called for improved water governance by increasing coherence changes and global warming challenges as well as the need
across water-related policies through sound legislation, for effective implementation of Sustainable Development
regulation, institutional arrangements, enforcement, integrity Goals have created the need to exchange lessons learned
and transparency. and best practices to stimulate and support innovation. This
is necessary to set the path towards leveraging water as an
We strongly agree with this appeal. In addition, we believe that important component of peace and conflict prevention. The
the time is ripe to consider, at the global level, a set of strategies time has come to convene a full-fledged Global Conference
to address water matters as issues of peace and security, and to on International Water Cooperation.
leverage water as a driver of peace.

A set of strategies requires coherence:

▪ Therefore, the first task is political. The vital importance
of water for the maintenance of international peace and
security must be politically recognized. This will enable the
formulation of policies and strategies that are sufficiently
comprehensive and coordinated, detailed and data-driven

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