Water diplomacy is vital to a country's peace, socio-economic development, food security, healthy ecosystems and energy production.
Why is the need for water diplomacy becoming important?
70.9% of the Earth's surface is covered by water. It is a source of food and agriculture relies on water. Goods are transported by ship across seas, lakes, rivers and canals. Hydropower is a form of energy that generates clean, low-cost electricity and is dependent on water. This shows the economic importance of water as an energy source and natural asset.
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| United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 6 on water and sanitation |
Since 2015, the United Nations has set Sustainable Development Goal 6 to provide universal access to water and sanitation by 2030. Meanwhile, Goals 14 and 15 focus on water conservation to ensure the maintenance of marine and freshwater ecosystems. In 2018, the United Nations General Assembly launched the “International Decade for Action: Water for Sustainable Development – 2018-2028” to promote sustainable water resource management. Furthermore, UN Secretary-General António Guterres recently stated that the demand for freshwater is estimated to increase by more than 40% by 2050. According to the United Nations Water Commission (UN-Water), more than 3 billion people worldwide currently rely on water resources that cross national boundaries. However, only 24 countries have cooperative agreements on all shared water resources.
Due to climate change, the severity and frequency of extreme events such as droughts and floods are increasing. Water quality is deteriorating: Saltwater seeps into coastal aquifers, sea levels rise, and toxins increase in dry rivers. In addition, water bodies shared by two or more countries often lead to conflicts. Therefore, governments need effective foreign policy and water diplomacy to cooperate on shared waters and rivers and reduce the risk of freshwater conflicts among stakeholders.
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| Foreign Affairs |
Water diplomacy is the use of diplomatic tools including negotiation, dialogue, cooperation between multiple stakeholders including countries, organizations and different communities to find solutions to disputes over shared freshwater resources. Water diplomacy aims to minimize and resolve common disagreements over water resources to promote regional peace, cooperation and stability.
Cooperation on water issues will create positive ripple effects: promoting harmony, creating prosperity and building resilience to common challenges.
Peaceful use of water resources
This year’s World Water Day (March 22), the theme “Water for Peace” highlights the pivotal role of water in promoting global stability and cooperation. Water cooperation refers to the peaceful management and use of freshwater resources by all stakeholders, including across borders.
Water cooperation can be a powerful tool for science diplomacy. Cases of water cooperation have historically fostered peaceful cooperation that has served as a stabilizing force and a catalyst for sustainable development. Water cooperation, both within and between countries, can pave the way for cooperation across all sectors. At the local and national levels, integrated water resources management and circular economy approaches are promoted. At the basin level, countries are encouraged to develop agreements and institutions for the peaceful management of transboundary water resources.
The only international treaty on water is the Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes (Water Convention). The Convention aims to ensure the sustainable use of transboundary water resources through cooperation and collaboration among countries.
An example of successful water diplomacy is the Indus Waters Treaty, signed between India and Pakistan in 1960. The treaty, brokered by the World Bank, was intended to ensure equitable access to water in the Indus River basin. The treaty is seen as a milestone not only in the political relationship between the two countries but also as a model for negotiating, cooperating, and addressing other outstanding concerns.
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Southern African Development Community (SADC) Water Dialogue |
On the Continent, the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region-wide multi-stakeholder dialogue on water was launched in 2007. The dialogue brought together policy makers to discuss the water-food-energy nexus, and led to a regional strategy for integrated planning, as well as supporting youth participation and empowerment for sustainable development for the period 2015-2020.
Meanwhile, the Brahmaputra Dialogue is a multilateral dialogue initiated by the South Asian Association for Interdisciplinary Water Resources Research (SaciWATERs) in 2013. It is a basin-wide dialogue aimed at improving cooperation, neutrality and transparency on the transboundary Brahmaputra River. Initially, the dialogue focused on bilateral exchanges between Bangladesh and India; it has since expanded to include two other riparian countries, Bhutan and China, on the Brahmaputra River.
Source: https://thoidai.com.vn/ngoai-giao-nuoc-mot-giai-phap-cho-hoa-binh-va-thinh-vuong-198041.html
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