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Water, Conflict, and Cooperation

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Water, Conflict, and Cooperation POLICY BRIEF • The United Nations and Environmental Security Water, Conflict, and Cooperation Fierce competition for fresh water may ing livelihoods, leading to destabilizing migra- well become a source of conflict and tion flows. Conflict prevention, conflict resolu- wars in the future. tion, and post-conflict reconstruction efforts Kofi Annan, March 2001 ignore water at their peril in key regions of the world (e.g., Southern and East Africa, including But the water problems of our world the Great Lakes region; the Middle East; and need not be only a cause of tension; Central, Southeast, and South Asia). they can also be a catalyst for coopera- Water has also proven to be a productive tion....If we work together, a secure and pathway for confidence building, cooperation, sustainable water future can be ours. and arguably, conflict prevention. Cooperative Kofi Annan, February 2002 incidents outnumbered conflicts by more than two to one from 1945-1999 (Wolf, Yoffe, & ater poses both a threat and an Giordano, 2003). The key variable is not opportunity for the UN system. absolute water scarcity, but the resilience of the W Increasing scarcity of clean fresh institutions that manage water and its associat- water impedes development, undercuts human ed tensions. In some cases, water provides one health, and plays critical roles along the conflict of the few paths for dialogue in otherwise heat- continuum between and within states. While ed bilateral conflicts. In politically unsettled rarely (if ever) starting a war between states, regions, water is often essential to regional ALEXANDER water allocation is often a key sticking point in development negotiations that serve as de facto CARIUS, ending conflict and undertaking national and conflict-prevention strategies. The UN system GEOFFREY regional reconstruction and development. and its partners have ripe opportunities to capi- D. DABELKO, Within states, water scarcity can assume an talize on water’s cooperation promise while and increasingly contentious and violent role when, undercutting its conflict potential. AARON T. for example, water-dependent sectors such as WOLF irrigated agriculture can no longer sustain farm- Water-Related Violence: What, Where, and How? Alexander Carius is the director of Water-related violence often occurs on the local Adelphi Research in Berlin, Germany, a rather than international level, and the intensity public policy research institute on envi- of conflict is generally inversely related to geo- graphic scale (Wolf, 1999). Even if internation- ronment, development, and foreign poli- al disputes over water-related issues do not typ- cy. Geoffrey D. Dabelko is the director of ically cause violent conflict, they have led to the Wilson Center’s Environmental interstate tensions and significantly hampered Change and Security Project. Aaron T. development, such as along the Nile, Mekong, Wolf is associate professor of geography Euphrates, Amu Darya, Syr Darya, and Ganges in the Department of Geosciences at rivers. And while conflicts often remain local, they can also impact stability at the national Oregon State University and the director and regional levels. of the Transboundary Freshwater The Basins at Risk project’s analytical tool 60 Dispute Database. helps identify areas where hydrological and ECSP REPORT • ISSUE 10 • 2004 political conditions suggest a higher likelihood ing. Migration—induced by lack of water, of conflict over water (Wolf et al., 2003). Based sudden droughts and floods, infrastructure on extensive analysis of the world’s 263 interna- construction (e.g., dams), pollution disas- tional river basins, the project hypothesizes that ters, or livelihood loss—can produce ten- “the likelihood of conflict rises as the rate of sions between local and incoming communi- change within the basin exceeds the institution- ties, especially when it increases pressure on al capacity to absorb that change.” Sudden phys- already scarce resources. And poverty due to ical changes or reduced institutional capacity are livelihood loss has been identified as a com- more conducive to disputes. Key examples mon denominator of the causes of conflict in include uncoordinated development of major most of the civil wars that emerged in Africa, projects that affect flow (e.g., dams) in the South Asia, and Latin America during the absence of a treaty or commission; basins that last decade (Ohlsson, 2000). suddenly become “internationalized,” as occurred in post-Soviet Central Asia; and gener- 3) Water management and conflict: In most al animosity among parties. This approach pro- cases, it is not the lack of water that leads to vides a set of indicators for monitoring potential conflict, but the inadequate way the resource hot spots, thus allowing us to get ahead of the is governed and managed. There are many “crisis curve” and promote institutional capacity reasons why water management fails, includ- in advance of intractable conflict. ing lack of adequate water institutions, inade- There are three major linkages between con- quate administrative capacity, lack of trans- flict and water: parency, ambiguous jurisdictions, overlapping functions, fragmented institutional struc- 1) Access to adequate water supplies: Conflict tures, and lack of necessary infrastructure. is most likely to occur over water when dis- putes involve access to water of adequate Water management is highly complex and quantity and quality. Even when water sup- extremely political. Balancing competing inter- plies are not severely limited, allocation of ests over water allocation and managing water water among different users and uses (urban scarcity require strong institutions. A reliable residents and agriculture, for example) can database, including meteorological, hydrologi- be highly contested. Degraded water quality, cal, and socio-economic data, is a fundamental which can pose serious threats to health and tool for deliberate and farsighted management aggravate scarcity, is also a source of poten- of water resources. Yet, reliable information is tially violent disputes. Finally, when water often difficult to obtain, especially in develop- supplies for broadly irrigated regions decline ing countries. Further, disparities among ripari- either in terms of quantity or quality, those ans’ capacity to generate, interpret, and legit- declines can spur migrations that could imize data can lead to mistrust and thus hinder politically destabilize the receiving cities or cooperative action. neighboring countries. Water management in many countries is also characterized by overlapping and competing 2) Water, livelihood loss, and civil conflict: responsibilities among government bodies. Water’s importance in sustaining human Disaggregated decision-making often produces livelihoods can indirectly link it to conflict. divergent management approaches that serve Water is a basic resource for agriculture, contradictory objectives and lead to competing which is traditionally the largest source of claims from different sectors. And such claims livelihoods. If this livelihood is no longer are even more likely to contribute to disputes in available, people are often forced to search countries where there is no formal system of for job opportunities in the cities or turn to water-use permits, or where enforcement and other, sometimes illicit, ways to make a liv- monitoring are inadequate. Controversy also 61 POLICY BRIEF • THE UNITED NATIONS AND ENVIRONMENTAL SECURITY often arises when management decisions are expert-to-expert (Track II) linkages along the formulated without sufficient participation by Jordan or Indus rivers. local communities and water users, thus failing Finally, a water peacemaking strategy can to take into account local rights and practices. create shared regional identities and institution- Protests are especially likely when the public alize cooperation on a broader range of issues. suspects that water allocations are diverting Examples of this dynamic include the institu- public resources for private gain or when water tionalized environmental cooperation around use rights are assigned in a secretive and possi- the Baltic Sea during the Cold War (Helsinki bly corrupt manner, as demonstrated by the Commission) and the current cooperation in violent confrontations in 2000 following the post-apartheid Southern Africa through the privatization of the water utility in Southern African Development Community Cochabamba, Bolivia. (Conca & Dabelko, 2002). Water as a Pathway to Peace The United Nations and Water, Conflict, and Cooperation Transboundary cooperation around water issues, which stems from a drive for sustain- Gaps able development in the face of shared stress, has a long and successful history. This devel- Water is a powerfully unifying resource, but opment imperative—not the fear of conflict because of its centrality to human life and our per se—motivates countries to pursue tough, ecosystem, its management is generally diffused protracted negotiations such as the Nile Basin among the world’s agencies and institutions. The Initiative (NBI). UN is no exception: water-related expertise is Aggressively pursuing a water peacemaking spread throughout the system, including such strategy can provide dividends beyond water for bodies as UN Development Programme stakeholders. It can build trust and serve as an (UNDP), UN Environment Programme avenue for dialogue when parties are stalemated (UNEP), United Nations Educational, on other issues. Transboundary water institu- Scientific,
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