Insight |
development processes and the management of multipurpose dams. Although hydropower represents 45% of electricity
Above: Floating solar panels are viewed as being an innovative way forward in the energy-water nexus
References The United Nations World Water Development Report 2024. Water for prosperity and peace. UNESCO & UN Water.
https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ ark:/48223/pf0000388948
https://www.afdb.org/en/ news-and-events/press- releases/african-development- bank-group-lake-chad-basin- commission-sign-mou-restore- lake-chad-basin-68811
The value of initiatives such as regional dialogues, or the involvement of non-traditional actors, such as local communities, should not be underestimated. Cooperation on transboundary water management can be a powerful lever for maintaining peace. By creating conditions for regular dialogue between all parties and instituting the necessary legal frameworks, UNESCO believes such cooperation has the potential to resolve most disputes relating to water, and therefore prevent the emergence or exacerbation of wider-ranging conflicts.
In action
UNESCO goes on to give the example of Malak Dam in Yemen which highlights the need for community involvement and inclusion of women in water diplomacy, especially in the Arab region. Primarily used by three neighbouring villages for irrigation and livestock, the waters of Malak Dam had been a subject of conflict for decades. To halt this a tribal decree forbade all use of the dam water and then a water use association managed by women in the community took, as the UNESCO report states, “the lead in dispute resolution and peace negotiations surrounding dam water usage”. With support from the Food and Agriculture
Below: The 3180km long Indus is a transboundary river of Asia and a trans-Himalayan river of South and East Asia
Organisation of the United Nations, members of the water use association were able to negotiate the implementation of a piping system that used gravity to send Malaka Dam water to groundwater wells in the area.
Describing this as an innovative solution, UNESCO says it eliminated the need for direct use of the dam water, decreased evaporation and replenished well water resources. Water has since been sourced and used peacefully in the surrounding areas. Meanwhile, experiences in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) have highlighted the challenges and lessons that can be learned from reducing tensions among multiple water users. With over 251 multipurpose dam projects in the region, “an adequate balance is necessary” throughout the entire life cycle of infrastructure in order to avoid conflicts, and the region is working to foster enhanced water security, sustainable development and peace through transboundary water partnerships, area-based
20 | Yearbook 2024 |
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in LAC, extreme and varying hydrometeorological events and growing tensions across users of the basin where they operate, are threatening production, UNESCO claims. “Therefore,” the Water for Prosperity and Peace report states, “a water-energy-food nexus approach to promote synergies and optimise results in different sectors is needed.” UNESCO goes on to give other examples of case studies where water can be used for prosperity. Embracing innovation in the face of the energy-water nexus, about ten years ago a pilot project in Gujarat in India put solar panels over canals which saved valuable land, reduced evaporation and algal blooms. As the water also cooled the solar panels it made them more efficient too. While a study in California suggested that enough water could be saved for two million people if all 6400km of its open canals were covered with solar panels which could generate 13GW of power. Indeed covering reservoirs can reap similar benefits including hindering weed growth and minimising land use for new solar installations.
Innovative thinking Looking to the future, the UNESCO report says that
rapidly increasing pressure on global water resources heightens the risks of competition at various scales in many parts of the world. Therefore, avoiding and defusing water-related crises and conflicts will require new ways of thinking, as well as innovative and often transdisciplinary solutions and governance arrangements. Education, it says, is the catalyst to uptake and application of such new methods, technologies, and behaviours. “Conflict situations can exacerbate the impact on
local livelihoods, including education,” the report explains, adding that children can often be forced out of schools with a disproportionate impact on girls. Evidence shows that the participation of women makes projects more effective and targeting them for quality education and capacity development training is seen as an essential part to securing future water supplies for a resilient society. Indeed youth engagement and education are vital components in nurturing a future generation of leaders that are committed to better water stewardship, while women and girls often play a key role as agents of change in water science, culture and governance. In the longer term, conflict situations may affect the availability of experts to provide education and capacity development and local expertise may disappear through institutional decline, attrition or emigration. Furthermore conflicts can also hinder the installation and proper maintenance of monitoring stations and damage existing infrastructure leading to a lack of relevant data and observations crucial for the adequate design and operation. As Audrey Azoulay, Director-General of UNESCO concludes, there is still time to avoid the impending risk of a global water crisis – “if we take action together now”. “As water stress increases, so do the risks of local
or regional conflict. UNESCO’s message is clear: if we want to preserve peace, we must act swiftly not only to safeguard water resources but also to enhance regional and global cooperation in this area,” she said.
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