Context

UNESCO led the development of the United Nations World Water Development Report 2024 on World Water Day (March 22, 2024).

Key Findings from the World Water Development Report 2024

• Water Access Disparities and Increasing Migration: 2.2 billion people do not have access to safely managed drinking water and 3.5 billion people globally do not have access to properly managed sanitation facilities.
  • These numbers are expected to increase,exacerbated by climate change and population growth.
• Water Deficit Inducing Migration:  Water deficits could be linked to 10 percent of the increase in migration worldwide.
  • Displacement can increase the burden on local water systems and resources, resulting in tensions between migrant and host communities.
• Increasing Water Footprint: The global water footprint is expanding with freshwater consumption increasing by nearly one percent annually. 
  • In the lowest-income countries, 80 percent of jobs rely on water, compared to 50 percent in high-income nations.
• Urban-Rural Divide: There is a prominent urban-rural divide wherein “four out of five people lack at least basic drinking water services live in rural areas.
• Critical Water Availability and Climate Change: Only 0.5 percent of water on Earth is usable and climate change is dangerously affecting that supply. 
  • Over the past twenty years, terrestrial water storage including soil moisture, snow and ice has dropped at a rate of 1 cm per year, with major ramifications for water security.
• Impact on Food Security: Climate change, population growth and increasing water scarcity will put pressure on food supply as about 72 percent of the freshwater used is used for agriculture.
• Rise in Water-Related Disasters: Water-related disasters have dominated the list of disasters over the past 50 years and account for 70 percent of all deaths related to natural disasters.
• Child Mortality in Conflict-Affected Areas: Children under the age of 15 living in countries affected by prolonged conflict are, on average, almost three times more likely to die due to lack of safe water, sanitation and hygiene than by direct violence.
• Transboundary Water Cooperation: Only 24 countries report that all their transboundary basins are covered by cooperation arrangements.
  • Transboundary waters account for 60 percent of the world’s freshwater flows, and 153 countries have territory within at least 1 of the 310 transboundary river and lake basins and inventoried 468 transboundary aquifer systems.
• Economic Returns of Water and Sanitation Investments: The benefits of investing in water and sanitation outweigh the costs, as it can improve health, productivity, environment, and social outcomes. 
  • Every US$ 1 invested in water and sanitation yields a return of US$ 4.3. In transboundary rivers and aquifers this includes hydropower production, flood and drought management, water quality, and ecosystem conservation.

How Can Water Be linked to Conflict and Instability?

• Water in Historical Conflict: 

• • Water has been a pivotal resource for some of the greatest civilisations such as the Indus, the Nile, the Tigris and the Euphrates. However,  conflicts arose in these civilisations on account of this resource. 

• • • Ex- Tensions between the Mesopotamian cities of Lagash and Umma. This conflict centered around a fertile piece of land and water resources. 
    • The conflict also yielded the world’s first peace treaty, the Treaty of Mesilim, recognised as one of humanity’s oldest legal documents.

• Divergent Interests Among Users: 

  • Water can be a trigger when interests of different water users, including States and provinces, clash and and seem impossible to reconcile. 
    • Similarly, conflicts may arise when there’s a decrease in water quantity or quality, potentially impacting human and ecosystem health.

• Water as a Weapon in Armed Conflict: 

  • It can be used by both State and non-State actors as a means to gain or maintain control over territory and populations or as a means to pressurize opponent groups.
    • Ex- water was used by Israel as a weapon against its conflicts with Hamas.

• Water Vulnerability in Conflict Zones:  

  • Water can suffer as a consequence of conflict when water resources become intentional or unintended victims or targets of violence. 
    • Deliberate attacks on civilian infrastructure, including water systems, not only pose significant health hazards but also breach international humanitarian law.

• Multiplying Factor in Conflict Settings:  

  • For Example, the inability of a government to provide basic water services leads to a delegitimization of State institutions and ignites social unrest.
    • If factors such as food insecurity, unemployment and internal migration coincide with water-related stress, all culminate in instability at various governance levels.

• Climate Change and Rising Water Insecurity: 

  • Currently, the world is experiencing a multitude of climatic extremes, spanning from intense heatwaves to turbulent floods raising concerns regarding the climate crisis and its ongoing effects on water insecurity.
    • For instance, in India, the monsoon has displayed erratic patterns over time, introducing significant uncertainties for agriculture.

• Transboundary Water Resource and Pollution: 

• • A large proportion of the world’s freshwater resources are in transboundary waters” including in India. 
    • With its expansive landmass, India boasts a network of long rivers, not only serving its own needs but also shared with its neighbours. 
    • However, in the South Asian region, the extent of water pollution has worsened considerably in recent years, especially the Meghna, Brahmaputra, Ganga and Indus.

Way Forward to Use Water for Peace

• Water Diplomacy as a Solution for Rising Water Conflicts: 

• • The shared recognition that water is a vital resource, with limitations in quality and availability, necessitates collaborative governance.
    • This will ensure effective and equitable water allocation among nations, fostering regional stability and peace, and an understanding of the intricate relationships between water, climate, and international stability.

• Universal Principles for International Water Law: 

  • Within the added climate change-related pressures, the world needs to foster improved cooperation over water-sharing and embrace universal principles for International Water Law. Working towards establishing formal arrangements over river basins and aquifers by the riparian States are key for long-term successful cooperation.

• • By governing the use of shared waters and encouraging the use of water sustainably, we can strive for better water diplomacy making water a force for peace.Inclusive Approach: Water diplomacy requires inclusive approaches, acknowledging the indigenous and local communities’ extensive cross-border networks.
  • Involving civil society and academic networks can help in facilitating political processes to prevent, mitigate, and resolve water-related disputes.

• Cross-Sectoral Water Cooperation:  

  • Bringing together water, energy, agriculture, environment helps to better manage trade-offs and can amplify the benefits that accrue from collective action while also safeguarding ecosystems. 
    • Multilevel governance systems are key to breaking sectoral silos in a way that can deliver legitimate, equitable and sustainable outcomes.Ways to cooperate over water include the sharing of energy and food security benefits across transboundary basins, multi-stakeholder environmental protection (such as ‘peace parks’) and basin management schemes.

• Action-Oriented Water Cooperation: 

  • Concrete steps are needed to address funding and financing gaps, insufficient and inaccessible data and information, capacity development shortfalls, weak governance systems.
    • These result in poorly coordinated and uneven power relationships among stakeholders, and the slow introduction and uptake of innovative practices and technologies.
    • Early and efficient cooperation over water resources can also prevent water being a trigger, a weapon or a casualty in times of armed conflicts. 

• Transboundary Cooperation as Key: 

• • More than three billion people globally depend on water that crosses national borders. 

• Cooperation over transboundary Rivers, Lakes and Aquifers:

• • They can generate multiple economic, social, environmental and political benefits that in turn deliver prosperity and peace at local, national, regional and global levels.
    • Framework Agreement on the Sava River Basin (FASRB) in the Balkans, signed in 2002 can be considered as an example of geopolitical coordination, managing conflicts and driving stability in the region riven apart by the Bosnian War of the 1990s.

Conclusion

To build resilience against climate change and to serve a growing population equitably and sustainably, an integrated and inclusive approach, centred on human rights, and based on sound, trusted data, must be taken to managing this finite resource.