Water Conflict and Cooperation State of the World Worldwatch.
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Transcript of Water Conflict and Cooperation State of the World Worldwatch.
Water Conflict and Water Conflict and CooperationCooperation
State of the WorldState of the World
WorldwatchWorldwatch
Water ManagementWater Management
Domestic use Agriculture Hydropower generation Recreational use Ecosystems International boundaries Esthetic & spiritual
interests
What are some of the competing interests that confront water management?
© Digital Vision
© Digital Vision
Water and DisputesWater and Disputes
Water is never the single--and hardly ever the major--cause of conflict.
But it can exacerbate existing political, ethnic or religious tensions
It can also provide a basis for opening dialogue and negotiations
Between 1945 and 1999 cooperative events between nations out-numbered conflicts by more than two to one
© Edwin Huffman/World Bank
Water and DialogueWater and Dialogue
Negotiations provide productive pathways for: Building confidence Developing cooperation Preventing conflict Create openings for further dialogue
How can water negotiations serve as a conflict-prevention strategy?
© morgueFile
DisputesDisputes
What are three key issues in water disputes?
1. Quantity
2. Quality
3. Timing
© FAO
© FAO
© stock.xchng
QuantityQuantity
1. Competing claims for a scare resource.
Water allocation for different users and uses such as ecosystem needs and individual livelihoods can lead to disputes
© WHO © stock.xchng© stock.xchng
QualityQuality
2. Unclean water poses serious threats to human and ecosystem health
Pollution and excessive levels of salt, nutrients or solids make water inappropriate for drinking, industry and even agriculture.
Degradation becomes a source of conflict between those who cause it and those affected by it.
© digital vision
© digital vision
TimingTiming
3. Timing of water flow is often critical and operational patterns of dams have competing interests
In winter dams may release water upstream for hydropower
In summer water is needed downstream for irrigation
© digital vision
Spatial LevelsSpatial Levels
International Level: Transboundary waters can cause pervasive tensions resulting in:
Dynamics of conflict can vary depending on the geographic scale
degraded political relations
inefficient water management
ecosystem neglect© Robert Simmon/NASA
Spatial LevelsSpatial Levels
National Level:
Disputes between provinces, ethnic or religious groups, or economic sectors have a high potential for violence
National sovereignty issues can inhibit international involvement © NASA
Spatial LevelsSpatial Levels
Local Level:
Likelihood and intensity of violence increases as geographic sale drops
Loss of water-based livelihoods (loss of irrigation water or freshwater ecosystems) can lead to migrations to cities or neighboring countries
© UN
Spatial LevelsSpatial Levels
Local Level:
Local core values held for generations are threatened by new demands for cities and hydropower
Disputes over water service management arise between communities and state authorities
© USDA
InterdependenceInterdependence
Basins bounded by 2 or more countries cover 45.3% of earth
Host about 40% of the world’s population
Account for 60% of global river flow © Stock.xchng
Why are international basins so critical to global security?
International BasinsInternational Basins
Database: Basins at Risk
Mollewide Projection
Oregan State University
October 2000
International BasinsInternational Basins
1978 214 international basins
Today 263 international basins due
to breakup of the Soviet Union and Balkan states, as well as better digital mapping technology
Examples Nile—shared by 10 countries Danube—shared by 17
countries© NASA
Sharing the BasinSharing the Basin
“Danube Basin Analysis (WFD Roof Report 2004)”
CooperationCooperation
Acute Conflict: 42 acute disputes in last 50 years (30 involved Israel, violence which ended in 1970)
Treaties: 400 treaties negotiated and signed Conflict events: 507 conflict related events Cooperation: 1,228 cooperative agreements
Does the rate of cooperation over international resources outweigh the incidence of acute conflicts?
ViolenceViolence
62% of all events are only verbal and more than two thirds of these have no official sanction
Despite fiery rhetoric of politicians most actions taken over water are mild.
© IRIN
Good and BadGood and Bad
Despite lack of violence, water acts as both an irritant and a unifier.
water can make good relations bad and bad relations worse
international waters can unify basins with relatively strong institutions
CooperationCooperation
Cooperative events cover a broad spectrum of issues:
water quantity quality economic development hydropower joint management
© Getty Images
Dispute ResolutionDispute Resolution
Mekong Committee functioned
during Viet Nam War (Cambodia,
Laos, Thailand, Viet Nam)
Israel and Jordan held secret talks about the Jordan River during the 1950s that lasted until a peace treaty was signed in the 1990s
Indus River Commission survived 2 major wars between India and Pakistan
Negotiations often continue despite wars over other issues
© stock.xchng
African NegotiationsAfrican Negotiations
All 10 Nile basin riparian countries are negotiating basin development despite fiery rhetoric
Southern Africa river basin agreements were made even during apartheid and civil wars
© GRID/UNEP
Conflict ResolutionConflict Resolution
Without institutions to resolve conflict, unilateral action can heighten tensions and regional instability, requiring decades to resolve.
Indus treaty took 10 years of negotiations
the Ganges 30 years
the Jordan 40 years
Management MechanismsManagement Mechanisms
1. Provide forums for joint negotiations, thus ensuring that all existing and potentially conflicting interests are taken into account
2. Consider different perspectives and interests to reveal new management options and win-win solutions
How can cooperative management mechanisms reduce conflict potential?
© stock.xchng
Management MechanismsManagement Mechanisms
3. Build trust and confidence through collaboration and joint fact-finding
4. Make decisions that are much more likely to be accepted by all stakeholders, even if consensus cannot be reached © stock.xchng
Worldwatch InstituteWorldwatch Institute
www.worldwatch.org
Further information and references for the material in this presentation are available in the Worldwatch Institute’s publication “State of the World 2005”
This presentation is based on Chapter 5 “Managing Water Conflict and Cooperation” authored by:
Aaron T. Wolf, Annika Kramer, Alexander Carius, and Geoffrey D. Dabelko