Water as an instrument of peace and a driver of prosperity
Water nurtures prosperity by meeting basic human needs, supporting health and livelihoods and economic development, underpinning food and energy security, and defending environmental integrity.
Fully developed water resource infrastructure management systems promote growth and prosperity by storing a reliable water supply and delivering it to economic sectors, including agriculture, industry, and the relevant business and service sectors that support billions of livelihoods. Similarly, safe, accessible and well-functioning water supply and sanitation systems foster prosperity through quality of life, with individual and community dividends reflected in education and a healthy workforce.
Cooperation over water resources has generated positive and peaceful outcomes, ranging from participatory, community-led initiatives that have relieved local tensions, to dispute settlement and peace-building in post-conflict settings and transboundary watersheds. However, inequalities in the allocation of water resources, in access to water supply and sanitation services, and in the distribution of social, economic and environmental benefits can be counterproductive to peace and social stability.
The impacts of climate change, geopolitical unrest, pandemics, mass migration, hyperinflation and other crises can exacerbate water access inequalities. In nearly all cases, the poorest and most vulnerable groups are those that suffer the greatest risks to their well-being and livelihoods.
Water management must therefore be aware of potential socio-economic realities emerging from several factors, ranging from global climatic and geopolitical changes to local social tensions, economic adversity and environmental degradation, their implications for water and how water considerations might contribute to shaping those.
Full chapter
Consult the prologue and introduction, on the complex and interlinked relationships between water, prosperity and peace (pdf).
