Why water diplomacy is critical in the Middle East

Sustainable management of common resources can help achieve stability and reduce the number of refugees and extremism in the arid region

Water, whether it is found on the surface or underground, by nature is a transboundary resource, and thus cooperation between riparian countries is a necessity. In an arid region like West Asia, the scramble for transboundary water resources could become a major source of conflict.

Climate change, urbanisation and changing lifestyles can increase the demand for water, but these mega-trends can act as an impetus for efforts to jointly manage the shared water resources to meet the growing water needs amid increasing scarcity.

My recent policy brief West Asia Regional Cooperation in Water and Sustainable Development Goal 6, published by the Emirates Diplomatic Academy, is focused on the need for cooperation on shared water resources and its link to Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6 — ‘Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all’ in the Arab West Asian countries.

Given that international laws governing shared water resources are not accepted by many countries and often interpreted differently by different nations, the policy brief argues that in a foreign policy focused on shared water resources, water diplomacy could play a significant role. It can help in bringing all stakeholders and countries

GCC countries such as the UAE could consider supporting regional water cooperation through their foreign policies by acting as a mediator for water diplomacy among the countries in the region ...

together to negotiate and reach a common understanding before executing policies and practices aimed at the best possible sustainable joint utilisation of the shared water resources for the benefit of all.

In the area of governance, there are no basinwide agreements on shared water resources in the region. Existing bilateral agreements only govern surface water resources and centre mainly on water allocation. It would, however, be of utmost importance to have comprehensive bilateral or multilateral agreements that focus on sustainably managing these resources for the benefit of all riparian countries.

Water cooperation in West Asia would also help in implementing Integrated Water Resources Management practices on a basin-wide scale, which has not been possible so far. Cooperation in water management demands that all countries and/or stakeholders share in West Asia a common understanding of the needs, priorities and options to take concrete steps towards solutions.

None of the regional organisations currently working in the field of water has proved to be efficient in dealing with tensions over shared water resources between Arab countries and their neighbours. However, regional organisations such as United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (UN-ESCWA), GCC and Arab League, can play a key role in improving regional water governance for shared water resources given the political and technical expertise of these organisations.

Promoting peaceful cooperation

Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries such as the UAE could consider supporting regional water cooperation through their foreign policies by: Acting as a mediator for water diplomacy among the countries in the region; hosting annual meetings for riparian countries of the region’s key transboundary water resources; and helping in establishing and/or hosting joint technical secretariats for shared water resources management in the region.

There is no doubt that in a water-scarce region such as West Asia, cooperation around shared resources is crucial for promoting peaceful cooperation more broadly. There is plenty of scope for cooperation on many aspects related to shared water resources, such as data and monitoring, joint water research and projects.

More sustainable management of common water resources can also help to achieve stability in the region and indirectly help reduce the number of refugees and extremism across the region.

The policy brief highlighted the importance of water diplomacy to facilitate better cooperation to understand the complete picture of shared water resources and to develop a common vision to benefit from them and to ensure the interests of the different stakeholders at different levels of governance, including regional, national and local, are protected.

Hopefully, this will finally lead to realising SDG No 6 in West Asia, as well as help to support peace and stability in the region.

■ Dr Mohamed Abdel Raouf is an independent environment researcher.