It has been more than two decades since governments, scientists and experts officially began discussing the multitude of issues surrounding water including water scarcity, water shortages, water quality and their impact on livelihoods across the globe. And today I do not think it is scaremongering given recent U.N. reports that predict that by 2050 more than 5 billion people could suffer water shortages, to say we have a once in a century opportunity to act in a way to save lives on an unprecedented scale. Crop failures, power shortages, mass migration and increased instability stalk us if we fail to step up to the mark. We can no longer consider a dichotomy of water rich and water poor, or indeed water flooded, rather, we need to think of a synergy of humanity to include the whole of humanity. In my region, the Levant region moreover, this necessitates an approach that integrates the region's diverse capacities and develops its capabilities, rather than upsetting sectarian balances and fanning the flames of minority hatreds, an approach that builds a pluralist mosaic. Carrying capacity likewise comes into the mix, for the issues of water, energy and the human environment transcend borders, while disasters, natural or manmade, fail to recognize their sovereignty.
In other words, there is a need, to shift the focus of our policies from status-based management to vulnerability-based management. To policies that serve our national and supra-national priorities, capacities and capabilities and address all aspects of human dignity, especially for the marginalized and vulnerable society.
Water scarcity afflicts every continent and is not constrained by borders, meanwhile, water use is growing, yet we, in our desperately water-stressed region, remain under-institutionalized when it comes to implementing trans-regional water solutions. Recent studies show that cooperation and conflict on transboundary water resources are not molded by the challenges of water scarcity and climate change alone, but by the broader context of peace and stability.
Of course, the political conditions, power relations and the political economies of every river basin differ, yet the evidence of the benefit of cooperation in trans-boundary watercourses is overwhelming. All of the regions that have introduced cooperation have enjoyed economic growth and previously unknown levels of peace. Transboundary water agreements can provide the mechanisms for cooperation and become a catalyst, bringing together cross-border partner communities, promoting environmental awareness and peace building, while simultaneously creating new job opportunities in everything from waste-water treatment, to land use, economic and tourism development, as has been the case with the Jordan-Syria 1987 Yarmouk River Treaty and the Indus Water Treaty.
The region witnesses a slow, but steady, progress in cooperation over the Tigris River between Iraq and Turkey; however, there are growing concerns over the co-management of the Euphrates which forms the border between the Bashar Assad forces in Syria on the left bank and the PKK terrorist organization-linked People's Protection Units (YPG) terrorists on the right, presenting an inherent risk of hostilities.
The greatest weakness in our current regional water treaties is the lack of clear provision for collaboration or joint use of resources for the collective benefit of the countries involved. As a result, water relations between the countries of Jordan, Syria and Israel and India and Pakistan for example, though not controversial, and unlikely to lead to any major conflict, are not being harnessed to accrue benefits from the shared rivers for the people of the region.
According to ESCWA, the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) indicator 6.5.2: Proportion of transboundary basin area with an operational arrangement for water cooperation is intended to monitor progress toward transboundary water cooperation through operational arrangements. The results of the first global reporting under SDG indicator 6.5.2 related to transboundary cooperation show important participation at the global level with 107 countries of 153 with shared waters having responded. However, very few countries have an operational arrangement on all their shared waters and many less have specific arrangements for transboundary aquifers. This indicates the need for a significant effort to ensure that operational arrangements for all transboundary water resources are in place by 2030.
Shared and/or transboundary water resources should be seen as a political opportunity, or a challenge, to strengthen and confirm bilateral or regional cooperation. For example, the Indus Water Treaty (IWT), though largely effective for six decades, is now being revisited as a key driver of geopolitics and regional stability, now and in the future, to ensure that it is better equipped in terms of improved water management to cope with the impact of Climate Change and present environmental, political and economic concerns.
Consideration of a new regional architecture is needed; an architecture that explores the concept of a regional stability charter, underpinning a vision of a shared future. The implementation of grassroots procedures is essential for building long-lasting and beneficial institutional capabilities, as well as the empowerment of the vast wealth of human talent to initiate beneficial change for the people of the Euphrates, the Orontes, the Yarmouk, the Jordan and the Nile rivers.
The great Nile River, synonymous to everyone with fertility and sustainability; is now in crisis. This mighty river, the scourge of explorers, midwife of civilizations and lifeline of Egypt's water supply is shrinking and it is shrinking fast. Not only does the Nile supply the vast population of its delta with reliable drinking water, but its nourishing waters also enrich the soil, and make the Nile Delta the breadbasket of Egypt and, indeed, of all North Africa. Should this ancient and dependable water source fail, the water crisis in West Asia-North Africa will grow exponentially disrupting the lives of countless millions.
The formation of regional water commissions, such as the Danube, the Rhine and the Mekong commissions, could provide a much-needed mechanism, to promote supra-regional cooperation in the region that arguably needs it most for war does not create water.
The very basic answer is to place water at the epicenter of all future discussions on peace, human dignity and human well-being. Whether by establishing a shared water network between warring states at the close of conflict, or by ensuring access to water for the displaced peoples of the world, H2O should be at the center of all discussions for peace. I believe that we can learn a great deal from the Bodensee where the people own the water of one of the greatest lakes in Europe; they are the stakeholders. These people emulated their appreciation of water as a source for peace. Security across the region starts with a community of water and energy for the human environment in West Asia, Middle East, North Africa, and Europe and indeed across the world. This cannot be achieved without the comprehensive understanding and safeguarding of the water, energy, food paradigm.
* Prince of Jordan