What is water diplomacy?
Water management and the fair distribution of water is an issue of growing importance on the international agenda. Building on the internationally renowned Dutch expertise in water technology, water governance, conflict resolution, and legal systems, The Hague Institute for Global Justice has joined forces with the Netherlands Institute for International Relations “Clingendael,” Water Governance Centre, UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education, and the UPEACE Center The Hague to form a Water Diplomacy Consortium (WDC). The consortium aspires both to become a knowledge hub for water diplomacy, governance, and law, and to contribute to conflict prevention and conflict resolution in relation to water management across and within national borders.
In the context of this initiative, water diplomacy is defined broadly to include all measures that can be undertaken to prevent or peacefully resolve conflicts related to water availability, allocation or use between and within states. Among these measures are early warning of potential conflict, conflict prevention through better water governance and water management, Track-II facilitation, more formal mediation and arbitration, legal procedures, training and capacity building, knowledge development, and good practice documentation.
Goals and services
Collectively, the WDC partners combine capacities in diplomacy and conflict resolution, international (water) law, water systems, water governance, and water management. These cover the spectrum of water diplomacy broadly defined from both an academic and a practical perspective. The WDC thus serves as global hub for water diplomacy in theory and practice, and offers the following services to governments and public entities at all levels, intergovernmental organizations, civil society organizations, and other stakeholders that need assistance in the field of water diplomacy:
- advisory services to governments and public entities at all levels on improving water governance and management systems
- training and capacity building on a broad range of water diplomacy issues
- knowledge exchange and partnerships among water diplomacy stakeholders
- advice on conflict resolution methods, from facilitation to mediation, conciliation, arbitration, and adjudication
- direct assistance as an honest broker in conflict resolution
- advice or direct assistance on post-conflict peace building in and through the water sector
- research and publications, including case studies and good practices, on water conflict prevention and resolution issues
- organization of conferences and other events, including online activities, on water diplomacy for experts or the broader public
Partners: Clingendael, Water Governance Centre, UNESCO-IHE, and the University for Peace, in cooperation with the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Work in Yemen
Assessment of Water Conflict Prevention and Resolution Frameworks
Yemen faces an acute water crisis amidst a range of other sources of instability. Despite much research and aid work in and on Yemen in recent years, significant knowledge gaps remain, especially concerning the use of national and local rules and procedures for solving water-related conflicts.
This project aims to better understand the political economy of Yemeni water management as a precondition for effective conflict prevention and resolution. It shall also support Yemen in achieving the corresponding water and sanitation targets under the UNDP Millennium Development Goals.
The Hague Institute and its partners will conduct a three-pronged study that includes:
- a detailed study to investigate the formal and informal political economy of water management in Yemen;
- three miniature case studies of the types of water-related conflicts and how they are generally sought to be resolved;
- recommendations for an intervention scenario to help prevent and resolve water-related conflicts.
The project will comprehensivly identify and assess opportunities for sustainable solutions. It will conclude in April 2014 with a proposal on the way best way forward.
This project is supported by the Embassy of the Netherlands in Yemen.