On November 14 and 15 Clingendael co-hosted a high level international working conference on Water Security and Peace at the Peace Palace.

At the conference, about 150 participants discussed the challenge of transboundary water cooperation, water scarcity and other topics from a diplomatic, technical and grassroots perspective. Clingendael is one of the five partners in the Water Diplomacy Consortium (WDC).

Water as a source of conflict and cooperation

The availability of water resources determines the well-being, prosperity and stability of societies worldwide. As freshwater becomes more scarce and is often unevenly distributed, tensions over its use are manifested in every-day life. Stakeholders have different and sometimes conflicting claims over water.

If opportunities are created for cooperation, then conflicting claims from upstream and downstream users can be adequately addressed. A better understanding of the underlying process of water cooperation is required. The conference created opportunities for dialogue, knowledge exchange and partnership building to foster international water cooperation.

Water diplomacy

During the conference the role of negotiation, mediation and conciliation were presented and discussed in evidence-based cases of water diplomacy. Experts shared perspectives and solutions focused on:

• Creating a better understanding of water diplomacy capabilities particularly among water resource specialists and diplomats;
• Initiating an international hub of experts to better resolve water related conflicts;
• Formulating an agenda on water diplomacy capability development.

Participants to the conference included relevant water experts, water diplomats and policy makers as well as political leaders in dealing with water-related disputes, from different levels and different organizations (governments, international organizations, NGOs), and leading scientists from various disciplines.

Understanding the underlying process of water cooperation

The conference was structured along three parallel working groups, each of which dealt with a different aspect of the process of water cooperation.

Working Group 1 addressed the legal, institutional and diplomatic methods that are available for water conflict prevention and resolution as well as the peaceful management of shared water resources; how are these being applied; if their current application is not effective, in what ways can and should they be improved? Illustrative cases included the Mekong basin  and the Middle East multilateral negotiations on water resources.

Working group 2 discussed solutions to effectively align different stakeholders in the process of water cooperation, namely policy makers and politicians, negotiation experts and water system experts. Illustrative cases included the food and energy nexus in the Aral Sea region and the Eastern Nile in Africa.

Working group 3 illustrated the importance of connecting civil society with policy makers through multilevel diplomacy. Questions focused on which tools and instruments create effective linkages and why cooperation is so difficult. The experiences of government, international NGOs, diplomats and international financing organisations in various river basins served as valuable examples.

About the Water Diplomacy Consortium:

The WDC is a joint partnership with Clingendael Netherlands Institute of International Relations, The Hague Institute for Global Justice, UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education, UPEACE Centre The Hague, and the Water Governance Centre. It is supported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands.

For more information on the WDC please visit the website.

For Clingendael's research activities on water diplomacy, water security and water governance, please contact Louise van Schaik or Barend ter Haar. For courses and training activities organised by the Clingendael Academy, please contact Mariska Heijs.