e-Learning course on Introduction to Water Diplomacy

Background 

Water is every living organism’s common denominator. Societies depend on it for their own subsistence and growth, and go great lengths to ensure water secure futures. But freshwater is not, in essence and in practice, an egalitarian resource and its accessibility to some often means inaccessibility to others. With unprecedented population growth, new emerging economies and the effects of climate change, pressures on our finite freshwater resources are increasing. Meanwhile, the ability of some nations to secure their aqueous requirements is being severely challenged, causing great and legitimate concern that tensions around water hotspots will intensify among water users. Yet, water holds an immense potential for cooperation which has still to be understood and empowered. Water is and will remain at the heart of international peace and security, the defense of human rights and the imperative for sustainable development paths. An increasingly strong and coordinated response is therefore expected from the international community in order to raise awareness, mitigate conflict, and build cooperation from the growing challenges posed by water between sovereign states.

 Learning objectives:
• Describe major contemporary stressors influencing freshwater availability and their impact on achieving national security goals; 

• Identify water's potential for conflict and identify some of the world’s main water "hotspots"; 

• Recognize water’s cooperation potential and the benefits to be drawn from collaborative transboundary water management between state actors; 

• Analyze how diplomatic methods based on dialogue may be used towards mutually-beneficial problem-to-solution processes; 

• Define the importance and structure of transnational water management institutions in their role to consolidate and sustain the benefits of cooperation around water.