World first international symposium on water diplomacy

The International Symposium on Water Diplomacy will aim to bridge knowledge and encourage collaboration between stakeholders at different levels, with different forms of expertise. It will bring together researchers, diplomats, decision-makers, thought leaders and practitioners to discuss international cooperation over shared water resources and water diplomacy as an approach to conflict transformation, peacebuilding and regional security.

Discussion topics will include water diplomacy-related including multi-track water diplomacy and environmental peacebuilding and grassroots diplomacy, and the role of women in water diplomacy.

Increasing climate variability resulting in more flood and drought disaster events and/or an increasing demand for water as populations grow and require access to reliable quantities of quality water, adds a sense of urgency to water management. This is felt at the international level when water resources are shared between two or more countries, and at the sub-national level where the burdens of inadequate water are felt the hardest.

International water diplomacy and transboundary water cooperation is needed when resources are, or are perceived to be in short supply or when access to water is restricted or confined. Concerns about getting one’s fair share arises when an individual or group feels that others are taking more than their fair share from a common or communal resource such as water. This can result in winners and losers in water resource management.

The Symposium is hosted by the International Centre for Water Cooperation and SIWI, in collaboration with the International Centre for Water Resources and Global Change, Koblenz, Germany
Click here for more information about the themes, or to learn more about water diplomacy.

Press queries:
Rowena Barber
Communications Manager, SIWI
Rowena.barber@siwi.org
+46 72 050 6039