Happy World Water Day! Water for Peace

Happy World Water Day! Water for Peace – With multiple ongoing conflicts around the world, the theme for this World Water Day of “Water for Peace” is very timely. Water is both a threat and an asset – it can be used in war but can also be a source for cooperation and peace.

So this month, we mull over this duality and how to use water to make peace not war and talk to influential global experts on the history & future of water conflicts and the latest happenings in international water law. Plus we chat with the CEO of the Mekong River Commission Secretariat  to see what’s keeping them busy,

Water, war and peace are inextricably linked; it is literally a life-or-death matter. Water can be a “trigger,” “casualty,” or “weapon” of violence – check out 5 things you need to know to refocus water for peace. This is ever more important as water security is impacted by accelerated warming.

In February, it got even hotter with 1.77°C of warming for the month, which means year to date warming is now at 1.56°C; worse still, we breached 2°C for 4 consecutive days! This is bad news as it amplifies the “threat” nature of water from floods, droughts, water scarcity to rising seas.

Water being weaponised goes back to ancient times but continues today with far reaching and long-term impacts. This needs to stop. And it’s not just because of the destruction or pollution of already strained water resources and systems but also because of the vast emissions from military operations, which only accelerates warming and water threats.

Not encouragingly, work by the Pacific Institute shows a dramatic increase in the number of violent water events in the past two decades. Why is this? What is the Water Conflict Chronology? Co-founder of The Pacific institute, Peter Gleick answers these questions and more in our interview.

But don’t worry, it’s not all doom and gloom. Gleick is hopeful for the future, sees opportunities and believes that water can be a source of peace. See his recommendations and how we should be thinking about solutions.

Speaking about solutions, when it comes transboundary water, cooperation and water law agreements are crucial but still largely lacking as Professor Patricia Wouters, Founding Director of the International Water Law Academy and some of its global affiliates talk to us about.

They also note though some significant developments, revealing a catalytic growth in transboundary cooperation. Plus, see how the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation could be used as a new type of institution for enhanced cooperation between China and other Asian countries.

The Mekong River flows through six Asian countries and over the last two decades water and water-related sectors have generated around US$63 billion and water, food & energy security have improved. But this rapid development has altered the basin generating new challenges like permanent modification of mainstream flow.

How is the Mekong River Commission tackling these challenges? What are its priorities? And what does the future of water cooperation in the region look like? Dr Anoulak Kittikoun, CEO of the Mekong River Commission Secretariat answers these questions and more in our interview.

Our world is in a polycrisis and we are all in a battle against global warming – which we are losing at the moment. And as you can see from the tapping in column, we might lose trillions of dollars in 30-40 years time from heat impacts on the global supply chain, rising seas flooding US coastal cities and 36 climate risks across Europe.

We shouldn’t be battling each other over water. It won’t be easy, and it doesn’t mean there won’t be hostilities but let’s choose peace, choose life, choose water! Happy World Water Day!